Simple SOM object references

In order to efficiently support the generation and interpretation of references to SOM objects, the SOMOA defines another method called create_SOM_ref.

The create_SOM_ref method creates a simple DSOM reference (SOMDObject) for a local SOM object. The reference is "special" in that, unlike create and create_constant there is no user-supplied ReferenceData associated with the object and because the reference is only valid while the SOM object exists in memory. The SOMObject to which it refers can be retrieved via the get_SOM_object method. The is_SOM_ref method can be used to tell if the reference was created using create_SOM_ref or not. The IDL declarations for create_SOM_ref, get_SOM_object, and is_SOM_ref are displayed below:

/* from SOMOA's interface */

   SOMDObject create_SOM_ref(in SOMObject somobj,
                             in ImplementationDef impl);

   SOMObject get_SOM_object(in SOMDObject somref);

/* from SOMDObject's interface */

   boolean is_SOM_ref();