PRODUCTION PROGRAM GENERATION IN A FLEXIBLE DATA DICTIONARY SYSTEM

A data dictionary system with a query compiler is implemented in a symbol manipulation language, separate from the underlying database system. The query compiler (or program generator) generates COBOL programs for database access. These programs are optimized at generation time using information from the data dictionary. The implementation technique makes it possible to combine pilot implementation with production implementation of database application programs. Furthermore, an example is given of how the architecture of the system is convertible to different underlying database systems. Key concepts: data dictionary, program generator, query language compilation, query language interpretation, non-procedural query language. I