Implementing Oracle-style Structured Data Types (OBJECT/RECORD) in Firebird

[filhotecmail]

Hello Firebird community,

I've been exploring Firebird's capabilities for complex data structures and would like to discuss the possibility of implementing Oracle-style structured data types in Firebird. Specifically, I'm interested in two Oracle features:

OBJECT types:

 CREATE TYPE Address AS OBJECT (
   street    VARCHAR2(40),
   city      VARCHAR(30),
   state     CHAR(2),
   zip_code  CHAR(10)
);

TYPE rec_t IS RECORD (
   year PLS_INTEGER := 2,
   name VARCHAR2(100)
);

Ref: https://docs.oracle.com/en/database/oracle/oracle-database/19/lnpls/plsql-collections-and-records.html#GUID-7836EEC3-2642-4CF8-AA50-81034855119D

These structures are particularly useful when:
Returning complex data from functions, passing structured parameters between procedures.
Implementing domain models directly in the database.

Does Firebird currently have any equivalent functionality?
If not, what would be the technical challenges to implement this?
Could this be achieved through existing features (domains, tables, etc.) with some creative workarounds?
Would this be a valuable feature for future Firebird versions?

Look, if this already exists implemented, please forgive me - I couldn't find it in the manuals for current versions (I'm currently using version 5.0).

By the way, excellent work by the community! Firebird is getting really good without losing its core characteristics!

[dyemanov]

See #1115 and #3031. They're being implemented and currently scheduled for Firebird 6.0.

[aafemt]

Oracle Object types also contain methods, not only fields, so they are expected to be a mix of row type and package.

[dyemanov]

See also RFC: https://groups.google.com/g/firebird-devel/c/uZV0c-3vACw/m/kLvWeCsSBAAJ

[filhotecmail]

Great work! I'll wait for Firebird version 6 to start enjoying the new features, which are very valuable and extremely helpful for writing and coding!