Patent ID: 7434156

Claim:
A computer implemented method for maintaining a database of objects accessible by applications written in a plurality of programming languages comprising: receiving an instance of a first object to store in a database, wherein the first object is implemented in a first programming language; receiving an instance of a second object to store in the database, wherein the second object is implemented in a second programming language; generating at least a first structured document representing the instance of the first object and including a representation of the attributes and attribute values in the first object; generating at least a second structured document representing the instance of the second object and including a representation of the attributes and attribute values in the second object; adding content of the first structured document representing the first object into the database; adding content of the second structured document representing the second object into the database; providing access to the database of objects such that application programs implemented in the first and second programming languages are capable of sharing objects, in their respective programming language, represented as structured documents in the database; and wherein the database comprises a structured document, and wherein adding the content of each structured document representing one object comprises inserting the content of the structured document representing the object into the structured document implementing the database.