[link|http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/People/clamen/OODBMS/Manifesto/htManifesto/Manifesto.html|The OO Database System Manifesto]'s Introduction:

Whereas Codd's original paper [Codd 70] gave a clear specification of a relational database system (data model and query language), no such specification exists for object-oriented database systems [Maier 89]. We are not claiming here that no complete object-oriented data model exists, indeed many proposals can be found in the literature (see [Albano et al. 1986], [L\\'ecluse and Richard 89], [Carey et al. 88] as examples), but rather that there is no consensus on a single one. Opinion is slowly converging on the gross characteristics of a family of object-oriented systems, but, at present, there is no clear consensus on what an object-oriented system is, let alone an object-oriented database system.

The second characteristic of the field is the lack of a strong theoretical framework. To compare object-oriented programming to logic programming, there is no equivalent of [Van Emdem and Kowalski 76]. The need for a solid underlying theory is obvious: the semantics of concepts such as types or programs are often ill defined. The absence of a solid theoretical framework, makes consensus on the data model almost impossible to achieve.

[...]

It is important to agree now on a definition of an object-oriented database systems. As a first step towards this goal, this paper suggests characteristics that such systems should possess. We expect that the paper will be used as a straw man, and that others will either invalidate or confirm the points mentioned here. Note that this paper is not a survey of the state of the art on OODBS technology and do not pretend to assess the current status of the technology, it merely proposes a set of definitions.


Just hoping to fan the flames to get more light than heat this time around. :-)

Cheers,
Scott.