The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):
Object Persistence Framework
OPF
(OPF) Any system for storing objects so they
can be reloaded into a future session. Typically this will
use a relational database along with some kind of object
relational mapping. Another typical solution would store
objects in XML files (a form of serialisation). One of
the trickier problems to solve is how to maintain references
between objects, e.g. replacing memory pointers with unique
names or identifiers.
Virtually identical considerations apply to transferring
objects, or indeed any kind of data structure, from one
process to another via some communications channel, e.g. a
TCP/IP connection.
Apple's Enterprise Objects Framework (EOF) is a mature and
powerful example.
(2009-01-15)