Object-oriented database systems have been approached with mainly two major intentions in mind, namely to better support new application areas including CAD/CAM, office automation, knowledge engineering, and to overcome the `impendance mismatch' between data models and programming languages.

I: Introduction.- 1. Object-Oriented Database Systems: The Notion and the Issues ..- II: Data Model Concepts.- 2. An Overview of PDM: An Object-Oriented Data Model.- 3. Views, Objects, and Databases.- 4. Inheritance Issues in Computer-Aided Design Databases.- 5. Object Management in Postgres using Procedures.- 6. Handling Constraints and their Exceptions: An Attached Constraint Handler for Object-Oriented CAD Databases.- III: Language Issues.- 7. Object-Oriented GALILEO.- 8. An Object-Oriented Database for Trellis.- 9. Godai: An Object-Centered Database Language.- IV: Interfaces.- 10. PROTEUS: The DBMS User Interface as an Object.- 11. An Object-Oriented Interface to a Relational Database.- V: Application Support.- 12. A Shared Object Hierarchy.- 13. Towards an Object-Oriented Data Model for a Mechanical CAD Database System.- 14. A Data Modeling Methodology for the Design and Implementation of Information Systems.- VI: Architecture.- 15. The Architecture of the EXODUS Extensible DBMS.- 16. Persistent Memory: A Storage System for Object-Oriented Databases.- 17. ObServer: An Object Server for an Object-Oriented Database System.- 18. Generating Object-Oriented Database Systems with the Data Model Compiler.- 19. Design Issues for Object-Oriented Database Systems.- VII: Implementation Aspects.- 20. Associative Access Support in GemStone.- 21. The Efficient Support of Functionally-Defined Data in Cactis.- 22. Managing Complex Objects in the Darmstadt Database Kernel System.- VIII: Conclusions.- 23. Summary.- References.- Contributors.