Integration of heterogeneous database applications through an object-oriented interface

The integration of different application environments, especially in the areas of office automation and CIM, requires integration of data stored not only in traditional databases but also in specialized file structures for graphics and complex texts. This paper proposes an approach to the development of integrated applications which is based on the creation of an object-oriented interface on top of each data repository to be integrated. This approach is shown to be more powerful than traditional approaches, and in particular to be capable of dealing with data stored in complex file structures. The feasibility of this approach is demonstrated by describing the main features of a "generalized" "integration system" based on it, and by showing how this system has been used in the integration of a complex application.