Paper Info
Title
The DBPL project: advances in modular database programming
Abstract
In the DBPL project we tackled the problem of supporting data-intensive applications in a single framework, clean and simple in its conceptual foundation and free of technical mismatches. Conceptually, we based the DBPL language on Modula-2 with three built-in extensions which, at that time, were considered necessary (and sufficient) for data-intensive applications: a parametric bulk type constructor for “keyed sets” or relations; a module concept which supports sharing across programs and implies persistence; a procedure concept with transactional semantics, i.e., serializability and recovery. In implementing the DBPL system we adopted a rather strict approach by aiming for: full orthogonality in our relationally extended type space; type-complete persistence, i.e. longevity of data from Booleans to relations; functional abstraction for relational expressions including recursion. As a consequence, the DBPL project covers in a quite natural way approaches otherwise considered disjoint as, for example, complex objects, multibases and data deduction. In this paper, besides reporting on project achievements and spin-offs, we also present our insight in good-quality project design and its dependency on conceptual simplicity and implementational strictness. This also includes early recognition of the essential project “terminator” which, in our project, was Modula-2's monomorphic type system and its intrinsic restrictions on systems extensibility. The DBPL project results in a mature product † † The DBPL System is distributed through Hamburg University. for modular database application programming and a follow-up project based on polymorphic types and other higher-order concepts ‡ .
Year
DOI
Venue
1994
10.1016/0306-4379(94)90007-8
Inf. Syst.
Keywords
Field
DocType
dbpl project,modular database programming
Design elements and principles,Data mining,Programming language,Abstraction,Computer science,Language construct,Orthogonality,Modular programming,Modular design,Modula,Database
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
19
2
Information Systems
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
16
2.88
27
Authors
2
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Joachim W. Schmidt11147919.40
Florian Matthes21386424.99