Patent ID: 7007037

Claim:
A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for handling within a database system a data item that is associated with a data type whose native structure is not known to said database system, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of: said database system receiving user input that specifies a pickling mechanism and an unpickling mechanism for said data type; prior to storing said data item to non-volatile memory, said database system invoking said pickling mechanism to transform said data item from said native structure to a storable format; upon reading said data item from non-volatile memory, said database system invoking said unpickling mechanism to transform said data item from said storable format to said native structure; and maintaining said data item in said native structure as the data item is passed between said database system and routines that expect said data item to be in said native structure.