The Degree Audit set of functionality includes one particular example that shows the power of AOA objects to simplify a complex problem. It is desirable for the audit process to save an electronic copy of an official audit. Unless one saves a copy of the formatted document, this usually requires defining persistent database data and copying the content of the work-in-progress data into that format. In AOA, however, there is a simple solution to all such problems.

The results of the degree audit exist in a single object comprised of both persistent and temporary data. Any AOA object, including this one, can be written, as is, out to a file or stored as a blob in the attribute of another object via a single object command. In like manner, the blob can later be expanded back into that same object via another command. The resulting expanded object can then be presented using any of the presentation formats identified earlier. The interface for displaying stored official audits is displayed to the right. Note the interface simply involves listing the entities containing audit blobs for the student and expands a selected blob when a button is struck.

Also note that an official audit object could easily be transmitted to another application at another site by expanding the blob and transmitting the object, either as an AOA object or as an XML object.