![](bg4.png)
4.3 System Implementation
A successful implementation of the model will
require an Object Oriented Database System
(OODBS). The OODBS considered in this work is
based on Objectivity/DB [
Objectivity/DB 2000]. The
classes (version, temporal, location, type, event and
manager) are defined in the application schema file,
called Data Definition Language (DDL). The DDL
processor generates the schema header file and the
schema source code which are linked with the
application source code.
Objectivity/DB has the capabilities to represent
the various versioning approaches: linear, splitting
and merging. As discussed earlier, simple changes
are represented by a linear versioning method while
complex changes, involving splitting and merging,
are represented by branching. document objects
persist by storing the object within the container of
the database. Persistent objects are identified using
the object identifier (OID) which remains unique
within a federated database. Objectivity/DB uses an
object handling class to access persistent objects
automatically by the DDL process for every
persistence class found in the schema header. All the
objects and versions in the database can be
determined by scanning through the database using
iterative scanning functions.
5 CONCLUSIONS
The applications of object oriented techniques to
document management have been discussed in this
paper. Particular attention was paid to the concept of
object versioning and its applications. The presented
object oriented approach provides an integrated
framework for effective tracking of the evolution of
objects. It also promotes good temporal modelling,
because the temporal attributes and behaviour of the
versions are independent but have relationships that
enable the tracking of patterns of change. Also, less
data storage is required since only the generic object
and its versions are stored.
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V
0
= Generic Objec
V
1
,V
2
, V
(n+1)
= Version changes
= Temporal topology link
V
0
V
2 V
1
V
(n+1)
Figure 2: Relationship between the versions and generic object
AN OBJECT ORIENTED APPROACH FOR DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT
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