Object–role modeling

Object-Role Modeling is like playing with toy blocks. You know how you have different kinds of blocks, like squares and rectangles and triangles, and you can stack them on top of each other and make all kinds of cool buildings and structures? Well, when people want to design a computer program or database, they use Object-Role Modeling to figure out what blocks they need to use and how they fit together.

In Object-Role Modeling, the blocks are called "objects", and they represent different parts of the program or database. For example, if you were designing a program for a library, you might have objects for books, authors, readers, and librarians. Each object has different "roles" that it can play, kind of like how you can use a square block as a base or a roof or a wall, depending on where you put it.

So, when people use Object-Role Modeling, they look at all the different parts of the program or database and figure out what objects and roles they need to use. Then they can put everything together like a big puzzle, so that the program or database works correctly and does what it's supposed to do. It's kind of like making a blueprint for a big building, but instead of bricks and mortar, they're using objects and roles.