Sleepycat Software Inc. will announce on Wednesday that Sun, has chosen Sleepycat’s Berkeley DB database as the embedded database within its software line. The database is incorporated in key components of the Sun Java Enterprise System, formerly known as Project Orion, and the Sun Java Enterprise Desktop System, formerly known as Project Mad Hatter, both launched on Tuesday.
Sun Embraces Open-Source Database, Berkeley DB
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Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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I see 0 reason to choose any free rbdms, (mysql fans need not reply as it’s not an rbdms), over PostgreSQL.
SUNW putting the word “Java” in every new product is starting to give me vertigo. Is Apple the only *nix vendor that understands marketing?
Re: “me”
Perhaps there are 0 reasons for you to choose any free rdbms over PostgreSQL, but for me the poor Windows support is a really good reason. I would much prefer Firebird on Windows (or even MySQL if it does the job, “real” rdbms or not).
On Linux you may have a point, though.
Firebird? Native on all systems it installs on. PostgreSQL runs under cygwin on Windows. When the native version they are making comes out, I will try it. : )
I am not sure how your comment is relevant – Berkley DB is an embedded (serverless) DB component that works on a much lower level than either Postgres or MySQL. Many people use Berkely DB as “hashtable on steroids”, which is a pretty accurate description for it IMHO. Also, in many domains it clearly outperforms relational databases – for example RDF stores usually get an order of magnitude speedup when using it.
The way it handles XML is way cool IMHO.
If this is a serverless DB component, can you use it as a cross platform alternative for writing frontends around .mdb (Access) databases?
Also, is this database flexible enough to handle images and other types of binary data ?
It only handles binary types – whatever you stuff in it, you get back
Note that the Sleepycat commercial versions also support more things (full RW concurrency, etc.). Also, as someone mentioned, they have a (commercial) XML DB that everybody I know raves about.
If you are really looking for a light weight Java DB solution check out Sybase ASA Ultra-Lite. You start off with developing with a full featured SQL DB (synchronization, transactions, basically everything you would want) while writing your embbedded app. When you get ready to deploy Ulta-Lite track the features you used in the full DB. It then generates the Java (or C) source code for a minimal DB engine that implements just the features that you used – how much lighter can you get? It’s not free but it isn’t very expensive either.
http://www.sybase.com/detail/1,6904,1025129,00.html
Doesn’t Mysql support Berkley DB as a table type?
Actually, I was under the impression that internally MySQL stores everything in BDB.
As noted before, DBD is an embedded database, and should not be confused with Postgre/MySQL/other SQL-compliant relational databases. Look at the sleepycat site if you want to know more, don’t just say things here if you have no idea what you’re talking about.
Darius, can you post your email address? So I can get in touch with you about the .mdb deal. Or write me at my email above.
Email me at worknman (at) despammed (dot) com
I don’t know why I bothered to encrypt the email address, since I just noticed that it was already included anyway