An object-oriented persistent database interface for CAD

Much activity in the database community is focused on providing database support to the application programmer in a user-friendly environment that improves productivity and encourages software re-use. Object-oriented and persistent programming are two emerging paradigms that are considered essential to create such an environment. One approach is to converge programming languages and databases to a coherent and consistent whole. Such systems are not yet ready to replace database systems with procedural interfaces, due to the lack of standard or degraded speed. The authors consider a front end based on the two paradigms for the Nelsis CAD system. They discuss what kind of persistent environment is required and how to create it, with emphasis on the stringent time efficiency requirements of CAD database systems