Storage Management for Objects in EXODUS

In the 1970’s, the relational data model was the focus of much of the research in the database area. At this point, relational database technology is well-understood, a number of relational systems are commercially available, and they support the majority of business applications relatively well. One of the foremost database problems of the 1980’s is how to support classes of applications that are not well-served by relational systems. For example, computer-aided design systems, scientific and statistical applications, image and voice applications, and large, data-intensive AI applications all place demands on database systems that exceed the capabilities of relational systems. Such application classes differ from business applications in a variety of ways, including their data modeling needs, the types of operations of interest, and the storage structures and access methods required for their operations to be efficient.