Abstract
The language BCOOL is formally defined using a denotational semantics approach. BCOOL is a functional object database language with a very flexible, yet strong and statically checked, type system. Its main source of flexibility is its support for object evolution, that is, dynamic type changes of existing objects. Originally, BCOOL was used as a formal basis for a more traditional (relational algebra-style) database language, COOL. In this paper, though, BCOOL is presented on its own. The purpose being to compare with other functional languages and discuss the virtues and limitations that BCOOL and these functional languages have w.r.t. each other in terms of (i) the above-mentioned flexibility in the type system, which we consider essential for objects and (ii) the orthogonality of the language.
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Laasch, C., Scholl, M.H. (1994). A Functional Object Database Language. In: Beeri, C., Ohori, A., Shasha, D.E. (eds) Database Programming Languages (DBPL-4). Workshops in Computing. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3564-7_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3564-7_9
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