1. A computerized method for generating an application program for accessing a hierarchical database, comprising the steps of: (a) accepting one or more operator commands into a computer using a command line interface, wherein the operator commands are selected from a group of operator commands comprising: (1) a first command instructing the computer to capture a database description associated with the hierarchical database; (2) a second command instructing the computer to capture a record layout associated with the hierarchical database; (3) a third command instructing the computer to associate the database description with the record layout to define a specification for the hierarchical database; and (4) a fourth command instructing the computer to generate one or more class definitions from the database specification, wherein the class definitions are instantiated as objects in an objects framework that encapsulate data retrieved from the hierarchical database.