FINAL CFP: OOPSLA '97 Workshop on "Experiences Using Object Data Management"

The deadline for position papers is 4th August. Anyone interested in submitting a paper is asked to register that interest as soon as possible (to calculate possible workshop size). Email address is: akmal(at)soi.city.ac.uk

Preferred submission format is electronic:

1. Word for Windows (v6 or less) either as a uuencoded file or an attachement or
2. Postscript (using A4 page size) or
3. ASCII Text.

Hardcopy is also acceptable.

Papers should also have a coversheet with the names and affiliations of all authors. Contact information should include full email and fax numbers for the primary author/contact.

Papers must be written in English and accurate spelling and grammar is expected (hopefully no major errors in this poster :-) )

Photocopies of all position papers will be available to workshop participants at the event for a small fee (to cover the cost of photocopying, binding, etc.)

The following CFP is also on-line at:

        http://www.soi.city.ac.uk/~akmal/oopsla97.dir/workshop.html

                          CFP OOPSLA '97 Workshop
         Experiences Using Object Data Management in the Real-World

Workshop #21
Monday, 6 October 1997, 09:00-17:00
OOPSLA '97
Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Background

Today, organisations face difficult decisions about their choices for Object Data Management. This situation is further complicated by the fact that technology seems to be moving in leaps and bounds in all areas. Little has been published about what experiences users have in applying Object Data Management in their organisations, for example:

• What problems has it helped to solve?
• What problems has it introduced?

These questions are particularly important, since many new technologies can result in cultural changes and the way things "get done".

What we see in many parts of the world are that barriers to competition are coming down and organisations need to be "leaner and meaner", since the markets they are in are increasingly attracting new players and bringing new challenges. Since data management is critical to the core businesses of many companies, such cultural and technological changes could have major implications.

Objectives

This workshop aims to bring together users and practitioners who have experiences applying various alternatives to Object Data Management in their organisations. The goal is to discuss some of the issues and problems that they have experienced, what solutions they have developed and what lessons they have learned - we expect the workshop to be very interactive.

Workshop Format

Participants can choose to give a short presentation (10 minutes with 5 minutes for questions) or a long presentation (20 minutes with 10 minutes for questions).

Papers will be grouped according to a general category, which will be decided by the organisers, based upon the submissions received. Some of the topic areas may include (but are not limited to):

• Experiences "rolling-your-own" to Object Data Management.
• Experiences with Object to Relational mapping.
• Experiences using particular Object Database products.
• Comparisons of Object Database products for particular applications.
• Use of Object Databases with Object Request Brokers.
• Use of Object Databases with legacy or heritage systems.
• Tradeoffs between alternative application or system designs.
• Tradeoffs between alternative languages bindings for application development (e.g. Smalltalk vs. C++ vs. Java).
• Benchmarking or performance studies.
• The impact of standards.
• Management issues in adopting Object Databases.
• Cultural changes required in an organisation for the adoption of Object Data Management.
• Experiences in training staff to new working methods.
• Case studies.
• War stories.
• etc.

The workshop will be divided into four sessions, three of which will be reserved for participant presentations and one for a round-table discussion (and conclusions) at the end of the day.

Requirements for Attendance

Participants will be required to submit two copies of a position paper of approximately 2-4 sheets of paper (1000-2000 words). Electronic submissions (i.e. postscript, plain text, Word for Windows) are greatly preferred and should be sent to Akmal B. Chaudhri at the email address below. Submissions are due 4th August and notification of acceptance will be made by 18th August.

Participants will need to have at least 6-12 months experience with a particular project to ensure that they can contribute their experiences and lessons learned to date, based on actual systems.

Post-Workshop

Following a review process, some participants will be invited to write full papers for a special issue of the Journal on Theory and Practice of Object Systems, published by Wiley.

The Organisers

Douglas K. Barry (Co-Chair) Akmal B. Chaudhri (Co-Chair)

Barry & Associates, Inc.       Interoperable Systems Research Centre (I-Op)
14041 Burnhaven Drive          Computer Science Department
Suite 103                      The City University
Burnsville                     Northampton Square
MN 55337                       London EC1V 0HB
USA                            UK

Tel: +1-612-892-6113           Tel: +44-171-477-8551
Fax: +1-612-397-7203           Fax: +44-171-477-8587
dkbarry(at)odbmsfacts.com      akmal(at)soi.city.ac.uk

Biography

Doug Barry has worked in database technology for over twenty years, with an exclusive focus on the application of database technology for objects since 1987. As principal of Barry & Associates, Doug has focused on helping clients make fully informed decisions about the application of object technology. He is a frequent speaker at object and database conferences. Doug is also the author of the Object Database Handbook: How to Select, Implement, and Use Object-Oriented Databases, published by John Wiley & Sons; the ODBMS Implementation Stories and the DBMS Needs Assessment for Objects, published by Barry & Associates, Inc. and is the Databases columnist in Object Magazine. Doug serves as the Executive Director of the Object Database Management Group, a consortium of vendors and interested parties working on object database standards.

Akmal B. Chaudhri has been working in the area of object database benchmarks by case studies for several years. He has been a regular tutorial presenter and co-presenter on object databases at a number of international conferences, including OOPSLA '95 (with Kevin Dick) and OOPSLA '96 (with Dr. Mary Loomis). He has also contributed papers on object databases to a number of journals, seminars and conferences and is currently updating the UNICOM Report on Object-Oriented Databases, as well as co-editing a forthcoming book on object database case studies with Dr. Mary Loomis of Hewlett-Packard. He was a co-organiser of the very successful workshop on Object Database Behavior, Benchmarks and Performance at OOPSLA '95. He is a member of the British Computer Society Data Management and Object-Oriented Programming and Systems Specialist Interest Groups. Received on Sat Jul 19 1997 - 00:00:00 CEST