ITTIA launches db.*, a free, open source embedded database
From: | "Daniel Hornal" <danielh-AT-ittia.com> | |
To: | <lwn-AT-lwn.net> | |
Subject: | ||
Date: | Fri, 13 Aug 2004 12:07:56 -0700 |
ITTIA launches db.*, a free, open source embedded database. Bellevue, WA - ITTIA is launching db.*, an open source, powerful, small footprint embedded database for open-source platforms, and making it available on the ITTIA web site. db.* is the open source version of a database engine that has been developed and tested for more than 20 years, and been used successfully in tens of thousands of applications. ITTIA is making it available to the public in order to promote its tech support and consulting business, and to promote Club ITTIA, its embedded database community. db.* is special among embedded databases because of its novel model. db.* is a combination relational- and network-model database. Relational databases are popular because of their ease-of-use, where network-model databases are extremely fast and have a smaller footprint. db.* allows programmers to mix and match the two models to exactly suit their needs. For example, frequently-accessed data, or any data for which speed is paramount, can be stored in network-model and all other data can be stored in a relational model. db.* also has many advanced features that one would not expect in a database with a footprint of less than 150K. The database supports multiple users through its lock manager, so different applications or different threads can all access the database simultaneously without worrying about corruption. It has multi-stage database commits, so an application or OS crash will not corrupt the data. The database engine in db.* is fast and reliable enough to use in real-time systems, and has been used in critical medical and scientific instruments. Despite db.*s many features, it is very easy to use. The database is programmed through a C language API that will be very familiar to anyone who has used C. The db.* users guide is very extensive and well-written, and makes the learning curve shallow. "We are very happy to offer db.* to the open-source community," said Sasan Montaseri, President of ITTIA. "It offers unmatched speed and features, and will enable embedded developers to save costs and decrease the time-to-market on new applications. It will also encourage the use of open-source software in embedded devices." ITTIAs database efforts go far beyond db.*. ITTIA is in the process of launching the second stage of Club ITTIA, a community for embedded database development. This community will allow developers worldwide to come together to share ideas and help each other solve problems. Access to the forums will be free. Paid Club ITTIA members will also have access to db.* updates and beta programs, and enhanced support options. For more information about db.* or Club ITTIA, please visit www.ittia.com/dbstar/dbstar.html, or E-mail marketing@ittia.com.
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ITTIA launches db.*, a free, open source embedded database
Posted Aug 15, 2004 4:16 UTC (Sun) by TwoTimeGrime (guest, #11688) [Link]
And you thought PostgreSQL was hard to pronounce... sheesh.
ITTIA launches db.*, a free, open source embedded database
Posted Aug 16, 2004 17:47 UTC (Mon) by theglassishalf (guest, #24049) [Link]
db.* = Dee-bee StarEasy! :)
ITTIA launches db.*, a free, open source embedded database
Posted Aug 17, 2004 13:13 UTC (Tue) by holstein (guest, #6122) [Link]
And now just try to search for something with ".*" in it's name on the web...
ITTIA launches db.*, a free, open source embedded database
Posted Aug 15, 2004 11:16 UTC (Sun) by dvrabel (subscriber, #9500) [Link]
The Centura Public License it is released under is certainly not Free Software (it restricts usage to open source operating systems) and it doesn't sound like Open Source either.
ITTIA launches db.*, a free, open source embedded database
Posted Aug 16, 2004 16:17 UTC (Mon) by AJWM (guest, #15888) [Link]
(it restricts usage to open source operating systems)That sounds like the OpenMotif license, and no, it isn't Free Software either. But it's a step in the right direction.
ITTIA launches db.*, a free, open source embedded database
Posted Aug 16, 2004 18:12 UTC (Mon) by theglassishalf (guest, #24049) [Link]
Disclosure: I work for ITTIA. However, opinions expressed here are my own.
Taking your second comment first: It most definitely is "open source." The source code is right there for you to download, and you can distribute/use/fork the code to your hearts content. It meets all of the OSI's requirements. (You could make an argument about requirement #9, but db.* can be distributed with non-Open source software. It just can't be run on non open-source OSes.)
Now is it free? Free as in beer? Yes, clearly. Free as in speech? Well, we're as close as we can be. You are free to use the software inside any application, open- or closed-source. In that way it is "freeer" than the GPL. (I really like the GPL, by the way. This is not a dig. ITTIA will likely offer programs under a duel-license (a la MySQL) system in the future.) The only serious restriction, in the end, is that you can't use db.* on Windows (or VxWorks.) You can use/modify db.* on Linux/BSD/Darwin/FreeDOS to your heart's content. You can use the code in your own works. db.* is close, very close to the FSF's idea of free.
Call it "Free as in speech as applied in most western democracies." :)
Question: If you like the GPL, why isn't db.* under the GPL?
Answer: ITTIA took a database that was released under the Centura Public license and started working on it. We are as bound by the license as anyone else.
We're trying. db.* is a really great product, and it is filling a gap. There just aren't any free, open source embedded databases that come close to the efficiency, speed, reliability and footprint of db.*. Nor any as well-documented.
-Daniel
ITTIA launches db.*, a non-free, non-open source embedded database
Posted Aug 17, 2004 0:59 UTC (Tue) by xoddam (subscriber, #2322) [Link]
For software to be Free Software, it must have no restrictions on itsuse. Restricting use to a particular class of operating system means
this software is emphatically NOT Free.
The Open Source Definition doesn't require that there be no restrictions
on use; on the other hand it does have provisions about not
discriminating against classes of people and fields of endeavour.
Prohibiting the software to people who for one reason or another aren't
able to run your preferred type of OS could be seen as discriminating.
More explicitly, the most recent versions of the Open Source Definition
specify that the "Licence Must Be Technology-Neutral" (Clause 10).
Although the rationale for this clause is about 'click-wrap' licences, I
think an explicit prohibition on running the software on an entire class
of operating systems obviously violates this clause.
So no, db.* is neither Free Software nor Open Source.
Good luck in your work towards releasing this code as Free Software.
ITTIA launches db.*, a non-free, non-open source embedded database
Posted Sep 22, 2004 14:01 UTC (Wed) by mariuz (guest, #24892) [Link]
yep meanwhile we can use real open source databasesfirebird,postgresql..etc