Object-Orientation FAQ

COMP.OBJECT FAQ
Version: 1.0.9
Date:    4/2/96

Author:
  Robert John Hathaway III
  Object Magazine Online
  Cyberdyne Object Systems
  oofaq@cyberdyne-object-sys.com

Copyright 1997  Bob Hathaway
All rights reserved.

Permission is granted to freely copy and distribute this document but only
with this full header attached and at no cost to others with the exception
of a nominal distribution fee, if any.  No sale, resale or reprinting is
granted without the explicit written permission of the author.

Anonymous FTP Sites and Hypertext Server:
  anonymous@ftp.cyberdyne-object-sys.com/pub/CompObj9.faq(.Z)
  anonymous@rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet-by-group/news.answers/object-faq/*_Part_* ( 18.181.0.24 Tmp)
  http://www.cyberdyne-object-sys.com/oofaq  Official Site

Mail Server:  (See also section 1.24)
  mail mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu
  Subject:
  send usenet-by-group/news.answers/object-faq/*

Cyberdyne is preferred over rtfm for anonymous ftp retrieval, as it provides a
single file.  Rtfm contains the FAQ as posted.  Cyberdyne and rtfm (and its mirrors)
are the only sites guaranteed to be up-to-date.

To use the hypertext system, see APPENDIX E, entries 27.  Browsers such as
Netscape, Spry Mosaic, Microsoft Explorer, and many others are also widely
available.

Comp.Object Archive:
  A new and workable comp.object archive is now available on the www, with
  much thanks to Markus A. Beckmann, beckmann@informatik.mathematik.uni-mainz.de.
http://aaimzb.mathematik.uni-mainz.de/Personal/Mitarbeiter/comp.object.idx.html

Object Magazine Online:
  A related and free new on-line Object resource edited by yours truly:
http://www.sigs.com/omo - Please take a look!

Contributors:  Per Abrahamsen, Margaret Burnett, Edwardo Casais, Stewart
  Clamen, Dennis De Champeaux, Mike DeVaney, Eric Dujardin, Piercarlo Grandi,
  Tim Harvey, Brian Henderson-Sellers, Urs Hoelzle, Paul Johnson, Bill
  Kinnersley, Oscar Nierstrasz, James Odell, David Wheeler, Eoin Woods, and
  many others whose contributions have helped this document to fulfull its
  objective of bringing object-oriented concepts and systems to everyone.

  Special thanks to Object Systems, Geodesic Systems and Cyberdyne Systems for
  providing the support and resources needed to make this effort possible.
  Object Systems was primarily a "think tank" and producer of object-oriented
  technologies, Geodesic Systems provided patronage for a time, and we are
  at present under the auspices of Cyberdyne.

  Formatted and submitted entries for the new Appendix G are most welcome.

Objective:
  In the spirit of other FAQs, to provide a simple document to answer the most
  frequently asked and recurring questions and to allow new users to understand
  frequently discussed topics and terms used in comp.object.   This should
  bring new comp.object readers and/or writers to at least an introductory
  level of comprehension as soon as possible.  Other goals (hopes) are to
  provide a quick and current reference on available systems such as object-
  oriented languages, CASE, OODB and etc. and to provide good references to
  current and relevant OO systems, groups, texts and literature.

Disclaimer:
  This document does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the author's or
  any contributor's companies.  There are no explicit or implicit guarantees
  implied by this document.

While object systems are a constantly changing and moving target with a broad
diversity of often conflicting methodologies, constructs, terminologies,
approaches, languages, implementations and etc. and comp.object has a wide
diversity of readers and writers ranging from students, professors and
researchers in academia to beginners, professionals, top-notch experts and
leaders in industry with a broad range of experience and backgrounds ranging
across many paradigms, this FAQ can certainly not aspire to satisfy all of them
completely but instead attempts to provide the most well-rounded treatment of
object-oriented concepts and realizations primarily from the mainstream and
popular authors and systems and further to provide a collection of available
systems and tools in the appendices.

Several improvements are planned for future FAQs, including a glossary.

Table of Contents

This document was translated by ms2html v1.8 on 04.06.96.