A sample unix session of the OPM Query Translator for Sybase is shown below. metadata.so is the dynamically linked metadata shared object file. The ascii file sel01.oqt contains the OPM Query Translator query specification.
% oqt4syb -s metadata.so -q sel01.oqt
name "John Smith"
@p 100456
age 35
Tuple
degree_date "6/20/1995"
degree "Ph.D"
field "Genetics"
Tuple
degree_date "6/15/1984"
degree "B.S."
field "Biology"
...
%
Analogously, oqt4ora may be used for Oracle DBMS.
(Note that component attributes are automatically nested inside their tuple attribute specification in the output presentation.)
The OPM Query Translator for Sybase is provided as a utility tool for querying data. It's source code provides an example of how driver code may be written. Some application developers may be content to embed opm4syb inside a PERL script. Others, may prefer to compile and link with the source code directly due to efficiency considerations or for handling more customized needs. Future considerations also include making the query translator (for a specific DBMS) a part of the PERL language. In this manner, PERL developers may write script applications without having to look at, or compile and link with the C++ code. Another possibility involves incorporating the translator into a concurrent server with socket based communications. An open OPM java development kit, with API and sample source code of sample applications or applets, will allow users to develop or customize applet front ends. The use of ILU ( Inter-Language Unification), a freely available subset of CORBA from Xerox PARC [7] for an OPM API with java front ends [8] is another possibility under consideration.