20. The method as set forth in claim 19, wherein the step of generating an object comprises the steps of: storing meta data to describe each class type registered with said object oriented environment; browsing said meta data to determine said class type specified by said client; creating an instance of said class type; and populating with data from said data source said instance of said class type in accordance with said mapping of said components of said data source into said class type.
19. The method as set forth in claim 10 further comprising the steps of: mapping components of a data source into at least one class type defined in accordance with a type system for said object oriented environment; receiving a client request for data stored in said data source; and generating, in response to said request, an object, defined in accordance with a class type specified by said client, populated with said data, in accordance with said mapping to said class type, so as to provide an object access mechanism from said data source to said object oriented environment.