CocoBase Object-to-Relational Mapping Tool Gets DB2 Support

by Alex Woodie

THOUGHT last week added support for IBM's DB2 database to CocoBase Enterprise O/R Version 4.5, Service Release 6, the latest release of its Java-based object-to-relational mapping tool. CocoBase was designed to automate much of the work that goes into allowing applications written in object-oriented languages, such as Java, to access relational databases. With support for DB2, CocoBase also now supports the iSeries.

Traditionally, Java developers have spent a good portion of their time hand-coding SQL or JDBC to address the difference between objects and relational data stores, known as the "impedance mismatch." In addition to being time consuming, this hand-coding, which was necessary to connect the conceptual structure of object data models to the tables, rows, and columns format of an SQL-based relational database, also degraded performance and scalability, and added maintainability issues as well.

Enter CocoBase Enterprise O/R, a product of San Francisco-based THOUGHT. CocoBase automatically builds maps between application objects and database tables, freeing an estimated 85 percent of the time that developers would normally spend on data access. The product automatically generates Java code from several templates, which include Dynamic Transparent Persistence, Java Persistence classes, EJB CMP/BMP Entity Beans, Session Beans, JavaServer Pages (JSPs), and servlets. At runtime, CocoBase sits on top of the JDBC driver, between the application objects and the database, where it can manage the persistence and retrieval of data from the application to where it is stored in the relational database, the company says.

With support for IBM's DB2 UDB Version 8.2 relational database, including its JDBC JCC Type 4 driver, THOUGHT says, CocoBase can support all of IBM's Java platforms, including OS/400, OS/390, and Linux. One of the keys to supporting IBM's platforms, the company says, was delivering integrated support for IBM's development tools, which is what it's done with CocoBase Version 4.5, Service Release 6. The tool supports all J2EE and J2SE development and can be used within IBM's WebSphere Studio Application Developer and WebSphere Application Server. It also supports IBM's Rational Rose XDE Object Modeling tool, THOUGHT says.

CocoBase Enterprise O/R was first delivered in April 1997. Over the years, more than 100,000 copies of the software have shipped, THOUGHT says, including to Java creator Sun Microsystems.

CocoBase Enterprise O/R Version 4.5, Service Release 6, is available now. Licenses cost $6,000 per developer's seat. No runtime or server fees are required. For more information, go to www.thoughtinc.com.