A binary relational database model is described whereby application-layer object structures are easily inferred from database query templates. The object structures take the form of acyclic hypergraphs, which are induced from primal graphs representing query templates. Database applications may iterate through the collection of returned object structures, accessing the data in each structure. The returned object structures are not based on a fixed object model, thereby permitting rich structures with greater applicability than traditional ORM systems. A relationship between non-primitive entities may be directly expressed without the need for alternative join tables. Development and maintenance costs are thus substantially reduced, and data is more efficiently stored and manipulated for database applications.