Data Objects

Data Objects package together a program (the translator or method) and data. User programs never look at the data directly; rather, they communicate with the data object

Data Objects communicate with a common protocol
--> All data objects present the same appearance to outside (described here)
--> Programs can work with any data in the system (Example)
Data Objects handle
Projection (subsetting by variable name)
Selection (subsetting by variable values)
--> Can minimize transmission of data
--> Individual objects may have other functions