Using Object-Oriented Databases for Implementation of Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals

Computer-aided Acquisition and Logistic Support CALS is a Department of Defense DoD and Industry strategy to transition from paper- intensive acquisition and logistic processes to a highly automated and integrated mode of weapon system acquisition and operation. A newly demonstrated technology in the context of the CALS initiative is the Interactive Electronic Technical Manual IETM, which is a portable computer system developed for use of technicians maintaining weapon systems. The introduction of IETM systems will relieve the technician from the need to carry extensive volumes of hardcopy technical manuals, provide him with easy interactive access to the required technical data and is expected to have a profound impact on the way weapon systems maintenance is conducted and the costs associated with it. Object Oriented Database Management Systems OODBMS is a new technology that marries the characteristics of object-oriented programming languages and data persistence provided by database systems. This thesis explores issues related to the utilization of OODBMS for the implementation of IETM databases, discusses the benefits of this approach and addresses some architectural issues of OODBMS in the context of IETM implementation.