The Object Data Management Group (ODMG) was a standards consortium that sought to make object persistence and database access more portable across supported products. It completed its standards work in 2001 and disbanded; ODMG 3.0 was its final release.
What did ODMG do?
ODMG developed specifications for storing and accessing persistent objects created in object-oriented programming languages. Its scope included both object database management systems, which store objects directly, and object-to-database mappings, which translate objects into representations for relational or other database systems. The aim was to help applications work across products implementing the specification.
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The group initially called itself the Object Database Management Group. A 1998 account says it broadened its charter to include storage mechanisms using the specification and changed its name to Object Data Management Group, reflecting that wider scope. ODMG 2.0: A Standard for Object Storage and the ODMG 3.0 overview describe this remit.
What did the ODMG standard define?
The specification brought together several components intended to provide a shared approach to defining and working with persistent objects:
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- Object model: a common framework for representing objects.
- Object Definition Language (ODL): a way to define object schemas.
- Object Query Language (OQL): a language for querying object data.
- Language bindings: specifications for Java, C++, and Smalltalk.
Together, these elements were meant to support application portability across compliant object databases and object-to-database mapping products. They describe a historical standard, not a guarantee that current database products support ODMG.
When was ODMG active, and is it still active?
ODMG is no longer active. A historical account reports that Rick Cattell, then associated with JavaSoft, started the organization in 1991 to develop standard language bindings for object storage. It places the first specification in 1993 and ODMG 2.0 in 1997. ODMG completed its standards work in 2001 and disbanded, according to the archived ODMG status page. ODMG 3.0 was its last release.
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The same status page says Java Data Objects (JDO) superseded ODMG’s Java binding. JDO should therefore not be described as another version of ODMG or as evidence that ODMG remains an active standards body.
ODMG and OMG are different organizations
ODMG means Object Data Management Group. It is distinct from the Object Management Group (OMG). A later OMG Object Database Technology Working Group was intended to develop new object database specifications based on ODMG work. The ODBMS.org account says that initiative did not produce the expected results and that no further activity was planned.
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Where can you find the final ODMG specification?
The final specification was published as The Object Data Management Standard: ODMG 3.0, edited by R. G. G. Cattell, Douglas K. Barry, Mark Berler, Jeff Eastman, David Jordan, Craig Russell, Olaf Schadow, Torsten Stanienda, and Fernando Velez. The book listing identifies Morgan Kaufmann as publisher, 2000 as the publication year, and ISBN 1-55860-647-5. Archived materials describe the volume as containing the overall data model and Smalltalk and C++ bindings; the status page identifies the final Java binding as part of ODMG 3.0 as well. See the archived ODMG book information and status page. The book is a historical reference, not evidence of a current standard.
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