Build an object database, Part 2: Object storage backend [Video]

Implement relational database storage for Java objects

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Mapping objects into relational databases and vice versa is almost always a hassle. A general solution is difficult because of the inherent differences in the relational and object-oriented approaches to data modeling.

Tools do exist to help with this process, usually at a “generous fee” (with respects to the late Curtis Mayfield). Sometimes the tools are necessary, especially when mapping from an existing relational data model to an object model. However, when the relational model is not set in stone, it is possible to let the object model drive the relational model, allowing storage options to surface closer to home.

The most obvious solution: serialize each Java object using the object streams and slap the result into a database as a binary blob. While this is certainly a valid option and the JDBC explicitly supports it, blobs cannot be readily manipulated (or even read) by anything other than other Java …