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DataTern has Patent No. 5,937,402 on using objects to access a relational database. The patent was issued in 1999, and obviously people were using objects to access databases since the 80's. Basically, any software written in the past 15 years that access a database is likely violating this patent. This is true for Microsoft technologies, Java, SAP, etc. Here is its claim 1:

1. A method for enabling an object oriented user application to access a relational database having one or more physical tables segmented into rows and columns, comprising:

  • defining a logical table comprising a subset of columns from at least one of the one or more physical tables;
  • designating one column of the logical table as a logical primary key column;
  • forming a normalized relational schema object representing the logical table;
  • generating, responsive to the normalized relational schema object, one or more object classes associated with the normalized relational schema object; and
  • employing an object of an object class including the one or more object classes associated with the normalized relational schema object and a respective corresponding logical primary key value to access data in the at least one of the physical tables in the relational database.

I am looking for prior art that shows programmers used objects to access databases long before 1999.

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Would be nice to get a link to the patent and a quote on the specific claims. – NikiC Sep 24 '12 at 16:52
Patent and claims at google.com/patents/… – dpassage Sep 24 '12 at 17:55

7 Answers

up vote 1 down vote

Informatica has used objects to store its mappings and sessions in DB since late 1990's. I joined it in 1999 and it was a well-established company by then (went public in April 1999). I believe I've heard of a patent being awarded to Informatica for that very thing: storing objects in RDBMS.

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If you could dig up a specific reference to that patent, it would help this answer considerably! – Shog9♦ Sep 26 '12 at 1:05
I'm afraid I can't help much here. Other than give you all I remember: it was around 2002 and sounded like "storing objects in RDBMS" – YePhIcK Sep 26 '12 at 22:12
up vote 1 down vote

I'd have a look at what PowerBuilder was able to do during that timeframe.
My memory about what features PB had back then is vague enough that I don't know how much of this patent it covers, but I suspect there would be a fair bit.

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up vote 1 down vote

I'd also like to point out Dogpile and Copernic regarding this.

DogPile is a meta search engine I used back in the 90's as a way to get results from multiple search engines, searching a database of search engines to show results the other search engines in which, in turn, relayed results from their databases to match the keyword queries. Copernic was/is a desktop search engine service, essentially using your computers HDD and indexing it in a searchable database on your HDD that can be used to quickly and easily find files on your computer system.

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Am I correct in pointing these out? The first thing that comes to my mind honestly is DogPile which, additionally, can be used to argue that it searches multiple databases to display a list of results. – user1296 Sep 25 '12 at 4:15
up vote 1 down vote

Reading the claims closer, I now believe that the POSTGRES prior art doesn't apply. The patent appears to relate to an object-oriented software system accessing a database, not using object-oriented methodology within the database itself.

So for prior art, we're looking for object-relational mapping (ORM) systems. The ActiveRecord part of Rails is an example of this, but it's not old enough for prior art.

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up vote 1 down vote

You may want to try US 6,457,007. Published as JPH0798669 (A) ― 1995-04-11. There are two related JP applications - just need to translate them. If you think there is something missing, you may want to look at related filings by the inventors.

"When the table location extraction unit 33 in this Embodiment 13 receives a table access statement 255 or 256 in which the physical database name holding the table 100 to be accessed is directly designated, the extraction unit deletes the designation of the physical database name from the table access statement 255 or 256 held in the statement buffer 6, creates a statement 257 or 258, and informs the table location inquiry unit 36 of the physical database 1 (DB_a or DB_b) which is designated in the statement 255 or 256 as an access object."

Abstract:

A distributed database management system includes a communication network, at least a terminal device including an application program execution unit connected to the communication network, a plurality of information processors connected to the communication network, a plurality of physical databases installed in at least one of the information processors, at least a logical database grouping a plurality of the, physical databases, the logical database being defined by logical database information stored in at least one of the terminal device and the plurality of information processors, at least a table stored in at least one of the physical databases, and a table location searching unit installed in at least one of the terminal device and the plurality of information processors, for searching a table stored in at least one of the physical databases based on the logical database information, the table being requested to access on a logical database, from the application program execution unit.

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up vote 0 down vote

The relevant prior art would be in having keys made of multiple fields and using an object which contained "stuff" that was then mapped to those multiple fields via the "normalized schema".

I was doing this sort of things with Informix (I think that's the correct RDBMS) in the late 80's.

However, that's not what this patent teaches. What's being taught is a way to generate OBJECT CLASSES from the normalized schema, the perform the query.

This is a very narrow (IMHO) patent and probably not the least bit related to what most people think it is related to. Especially since I have source code lying around on disk from '86-'87 time frame which did what people seem to think this patent covers.

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up vote 0 down vote

When did ADA and smalltalk get the ability to access databases? Both languages predate the patent by more than a decade, and I'm sure accessed databases before then.

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