Object-Oriented Query Processing: The Impact of Methods on Language, Architecture and Optimization
Karl Aberer, Gisela Fischer · Infoscience (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) · 1993
Although nearly all object-oriented data models proposed so far include behavioral aspects, most object-oriented query languages, algebras and query optimization strategies simply adapt relational concepts since they focus on the complex structures of objects and neglect the behavior. We claim that this approach is not sufficient since it does not reflect the much richer semantics methods can carry which have to be taken into account for really efficient query processing. The quite straightforward approach we consider is to integrate methods in an algebraic framework for query processing and to make there partial knowledge about methods available in the form of equivalences. We examine two important questions which emerge from taking this approach. First, how is it possible to integrate algebraic set operators with methods defined in database schemas within an object-oriented data model? Second, what is the impact on the architecture of the query processor when the algebra becomes an ex...