1. A method of retrieving data from a relational database management system comprising: receiving an object query from an object-oriented environment; retrieving descriptions of objects from a relational mapping schema, wherein at least one of the descriptions is a logical object description containing at least one predetermined construct; translating the logical object description to a relational description based on predetermined translation rules for the at least one predetermined construct; and generating a relational query for retrieving data from the relational database management system to satisfy the object query.