Language technology for post-relational data systems

Practice has proven that databases are the keystones for nearly all application systems with a wider functionality, utilization and availabilty. As a consequence, next generation database systems will have to provide their services with a degree of interoperability that has to be substantially improved over existing solutions. In this paper we argue that this objective can be achieved only through full exploitation of current developments in computer language technology. We claim that the merits of modern computer languages’ naming schemes, typing systems and binding mechanisms are vital also for database management systems if they want to improve the quality of their interaction with application languages and programming environments as well as their own functionality and extensibility. This paper studies the technological basis of modern computer languages and presents DBPL as a working example of a highly interoperable database programming language that exploits such technology. Requirements of future data systems are discussed by emphasizing the abstraction principles considered helpful for the adequate design and organization of data-intensive applications and for the modularization, localization and, finally, the implementation of data-based systems. We conclude by relating the potential of advanced language technology to such specific demands of the next generation of post-relational data systems.