Hi,

> You are right that inheritance can be simulated by additional tables and
> views, but there is other overhead to make the views updateable and so on.
> There are several object oriented database systems which save developer a
> lot of time by means of inheritance of tables. This idea is not as mad as
> one can say. I am sure this is the future of database programming.

Inheritance and object orientation the future of database programming?

Not at all - object orientation is a very nice way of programming - but it
simply doesn't apply to databases. What does inheritance actually mean?
Extending base classes with more functionality ... and then some. What
does it mean with databases? Extending a table? Rubbish. The only way
to design a database is relational - it is based on a solid mathematical
foundation. Not ANY so-called "new" database mechanism is based on
anything, let alone solid and proven.

This does not mean that I reject object orientation - not at all, I use it
in
my programs extensively (Delphi, Java). But if you store objects, better
create a object-relational mapping...

Martijn Tonies
InterBase Workbench - the developer tool for InterBase and Firebird
http://www.interbaseworkbench.com

Upscene Productions
http://www.upscene.com

"This is an object-oriented system.
If we change anything, the users object."