Activation is a db4o-specific mechanism, which controls object instantiation in a query result. Activation works in several modes and is configurable on a database, object or field level. For more information see Activation.
Using activation in a project with deep object hierarchies and many cross-references on different levels can make activation strategy complex and difficult to maintain. Transparent Activation (TA) project was started to eliminate this problem and make activation automatic in the same time preserving the best performance and the lowest memory consumption.
With TA enabled, objects are fetched on demand and only those that are used are being loaded.
TA project is currently in the very beginning and is suggested for testing and discussion only. You can get your copy from our svn: db4ota and db4otaj projects for java version and db4o.net/Db4objects.Db4o.TA and db4o.net/Db4objects.Db4o.TA.Tests for .NET version. Please provide your feedback in the db4o forums to determine the project's evolution.