Dr. Dobb's | McObject Updates Embedded Database

McObject Updates Embedded Database

Perst 4.0 adds tools for developing mobile and embedded applications in both Java ME and Google's Android environment

January 26, 2009
URL:http://www.drdobbs.com/windows/mcobject-updates-embedded-database/212902622

McObject has released Perst 4.0, an upgrade to its open source, object-oriented embedded database for Java and .NET. Version 4.0 lets developers add persistence to any object -- including objects created by other programs, those for which source code is unavailable, and even objects created in different programming languages.

Perst 4.0 also adds new tools for developing mobile and embedded applications in both Java ME and in Google's Android environment. For Perst Lite (the Java ME edition of Perst), version 4.0 adds seamless integration with the EclipseME IDE, as well as improved handling of memory and storage.

In addition, Perst Lite 4.0 adds full-text search capability. To illustrate the use of full-text search, the release also includes a sample application, with full source code, demonstrating a local search engine that indexes and retrieves contact information stored on Java ME- and Android-based mobile phones. Past versions of Perst enabled developers to create and manage Java and .NET objects derived from the database system's Persistent class, while benefiting from Perst's high performance, small footprint, and features such as ACID (Atomic, Consistent, Isolated and Durable) transactions, a SQL-like interface and specialized collections classes.

In version 4.0, "foreign" objects or objects derived from any class can be stored in the database, vastly increasing Perst's usability with external programs. As a result, Perst can be added as storage for existing applications such as commercial or open source class frameworks, including GUI classes, object-request brokers, and industry-specific solutions; UML modeling tools that generate classes from wizards; and programs whose source code is not available.

Perst 4.0's enhancements for mobile and embedded application developers include a new example application -- called PIMindex for Java ME, and ContactsIndex for Android -- that builds on the embedded database's full-text search to provide a local search engine for contact management files on a cell phone or other device. The example software could be extended to provide search capabilities for PDF, word processing, HTML and other stored files. Both PIMindex and ContactsIndex are included in the Perst 4.0 for Java distribution (which also includes both Perst and Perst Lite).