Object-Relational Database Design: Can Your Application Benefit from SQL: 2003?

Traditional database design methods based on information engineering principles and data normalization do not fully apply to SQL:2003 object-relational databases. New design methodologies and tools are needed to support complex data constructs used in today’s software engineering practice. There are application domains such as spatial, geographical information systems and multimedia applications where the use of object-relational features is mandatory. There are also many other application types that are good candidates for objectrelational features, but are frequently implemented using purely relational design as designers hesitate to face the challenges of object-relational design. It can be argued that the use of object-relational features is limited in practice by the lack of design methodologies that can guide database designers in making informed decisions about design choices that involve comparisons of relational and object-relational solutions. In this paper we discuss objectrelational design guidelines and illustrate using an example that the object-relational implementation can provide significant benefits simplifying the resulting data structures and the implementation of database queries.