Which of the Database servers would you people recommend for using in a moderate-to-large scale (will vary from customer to customer) application.
I know MS SQL but since the app will be developed using delphi the .net framework is kind of annoying to deploy aswell. Also how realiable is Interbase.
Thanks in advance.
Since I have been developing in Firebird for several years now, if I were in your situation, I would look no further. The fact that you can develop your own extension library (udf library) in Delphi makes it very attractive to start with. Some of the new SQL constructs like the List aggregator and Common Table Expressions are icing on the cake. Deployment is very light (under 5 MB), and the support is excellent including incredible tools like IBExpert. I used MS SQL Server in a big company I worked at a few years ago and I would choose Firebird over MS SQL Server.
Data Access to SQL Server has nothing to do with the .NET framework. Delphi can connect just fine to SQL Server.
In terms of database engines that work with delphi, another you can consider is the Sybase Advantage Database server
Interbase is as reliable as they come. In fact, I'd like to get a job as an Interbase DBA, because I could uses the sleep.
I would definitely recommend looking at Interbase by Embarcadero or the open-source sibling, Firebird. Both are very well supported by Delphi by means of native, high-performance db-access components and such.
Interbase is a totally rock-solid database - I would put it on a par with SQL Server or Oracle. It's totally capable of handling medium to high traffic for at least 50-100 users concurrently, no problem at all.
Another two worth competitor would be Elevate DB and Nexus DB. Both grew out of Delphi file-based database systems, and both have been around for quite some time (in one form or another) and are well proven, widely used, well tested.
Marc
This seems back-to-front to me. I would choose the database server first, then select the development environment that works best with the selected database.
SQL Server. For 2005, you can make your own SQL Server deployment application that automates installing of Windows Installer 3.1, .NET Framework 2.0, SQL Server 2005 then installing the database through generatated SQL script (Feel free to contact me if you need help with it, I'd gladly help you). If you still insist on not installing .Net framework which is 22MB, I'd say go with SQL Server 2000 as you can still upgrade it to 2005+ when you'd like to.
Also, I had been using Advantage Database Server for few years and it's alright, Few DLLs to copy and you're ready to go even if you'd like to switch to remote version.
Both Server and Client installations of MS SQL require the .NET framework on the target machine. That's about it. If we can use ms sql without .net on target machine then ms sql is fine.
I have being developing in Delphi for about 6 years using distinct editions of SQL Server, and this database server behaved very very well. All of them were critical applications.
So, I would recommend you to keep with it.If you don't want to use .NET with and keep SQL Server I would recommend an older version pre-2005.
This isn't really an answer, but some things you might like to consider before making your mind up.
What do you mean by moderate-to-large scale? Do you mean by the number of concurrent users or by the amount of data being stored?
Are you going to be supporting the database as well when it's deployed, or might the customer have their own DBAs and want to incorporate it into their infrastructure team's remit?
Do you need to build-in complex features like auditing or granular security that some databases might provide out-of-the-box? Do you need to be able to run an overnight batch process on the database in some controlled manner?
Do you need to be able to have robust high-volume transactional support, or is it more for just using as a sink for reporting data? i.e. is it more OLTP or OLAP?
Are you limited by cost? i.e. does it need to be free/open-source, or can you select paid-for vendor product?
Both Firebird & Interbase are great, but not generally well-received into an "enterprise" environment in my experience unless they're "hands-off" and embedded into the application. MS SQL Server is a "safe-bet" for most systems. There is a cost associated with it but, as you know, it does come with a complete toolset and very good support.
If you do go down the Firebird or Interbase route then do take a look at Jason Wharton's IBObjects library which provides a high-performance replacement for BDE when using these databases. http://www.ibobjects.com/
Related
I have been doing some investigations into some light weight database Syncing tools to trial. The initial task we want to perform is a simple data sync from a few tables on a Sybase ASE database (15) to a SQL Server database (2008 R2). Timing wise, I'd like to keep my options open, but ultimately, I would like to have the ability to sync every minute or less.
I have been looking at SymmetricDS, which at face value seems to do exactly what I want it to. The drama is I have hit a couple of roadblocks on the Sybase side of things, which is proving to be very frustrating (Jumpmind support are assisting). It appears that Java has a problem with the default collation we have on our server, being HP-roman8. Unfortunately, to change this charset is way bigger then this project itself.
I have also started investigating Talend, but have hit a few roadblocks in relation to requiring older versions of drivers for Sybase and downgrading the installed version of Java.
Without having to go to Replication Server, does anyone have any suggestions on a relatively lightweight ETL or database Syncing tool that will do what I want? The biggest gotcha thus far is Sybase support - I really need something that will seamlessly work without having to hack too much.
Cheers
You should try uniVocity. It is a Java-based ETL framework that certainly can help you do what you need. You can use any JDBC driver, define your mappings with a few lines of code and have this working faster than a traditional ETL tool.
Have a read through its tutorial and also check out a few sample projects here
Disclosure: I am the author of this library. It's open-source and free (Apache V2.0 license).
Im looking through all the options in Visual Studio for database integratiion with Winforms apps. I am just overwhelmed by the options. It's not that I can't read about each of them on MSDN which I have done, it's that most of them seem adequate. Basically I have a fairly large collection of financial data which I need to stuff into a db an run queries on it from a Windows Form. Can someone briefly advice which of Service Based Databas, ADO.Net and all it's varients, Local Database, SQL Server Compact 4.0 Local Databace, Service Based Database etc would be suited to the task? Or just generally if any of them are NOT suited at all?
I would use SQL Server Express, which is a free version of SQL Server.
Why? it has very good tools and will grow and scale-up very easily, whether you wish to add more (large volumes) of data, or support multiple front-ends - ASP.NET, mobile, Winforms, MVC, MS Access.
You may wish to connect to your SQL Server back-end with Access to run ad-hoc queries and generate quick reports off of them and at the same time keep expose your data through services via .NET. SQL Server will support all these front-ends at the same time.
All of these are variants of SQL Server. Just create the database in whatever manner you like, and use Entity Framework (or at worse, classic ADO.NET) to interact with it.
Lacking other specific requirements and assuming your data is less than the 10GB limit for the free SQL Server 2010 Express. If you find that you need to store more than 10GB, or evolve to use other features of SQL Server, the upgrade path is very straightforward.
Entity Framework is generally a very productive way to access the database from WinForms. If you're not familiar with it, I would recommend setting aside some time to learn to use it if you can. You will quickly make up the time invested in productivity gains.
At the moment I am using Access & an OleDb connection to store data. I went down this route originally because I though that this was the best way for applications that I am distributing to my clients.
I would prefer to use something like SQL Server but is this a good idea for software I am distributing? Does the average Joe's PC have SQL Server pre-installed? If not, I suppose I can provide them with a link to download it for free?
Is there any better alternatives to Access / SQL Server?
You can use SQL Server CE and bundle the database with your application.
See this How to on MSDN.
You haven't really given enough information to answer this specifically but I'll answer generally:
Does the average Joe's PC have SQL Server pre-installed?
No.
If not, I suppose I can provide them with a link to download it for free?
Yes, Microsoft has fairly generous 'free' versions of SQL server Express for small database sizes (<1GB) and small numbers of CPU's (1). Check here.
Are there any better alternatives to Access / SQL Server?
It depends on your app, your skill and how you define better.
If you are running sql-server you can very easily use linq2sql and have strongly typed data base objects that offer clean vb.net code. The linq technologies are worth learning IMO. The tools in VS2010 work well with sql-server databases. Other more modern Microsoft tools are available too that integrate very easily (entity framework and lightswitch (which I don't have experience with)).
For small local databases sqlite works well. If your project is very small and the sql is simple this is a very light weight solution. This is very small and very fast and is used everywhere.
If a server is needed and low cost matters mysqlis a solid open source server though it is now under private ownership.
Again depending upon your application off-site hosting of a database might be a viable solution. I have a client that is still running their db in the cloud with a low cost 2008 SQL Server provider.
I Want Implement a Software by C#.net.I want Use a DataBase Manager Software like Access or SqlLite or etc.My Program Saved Many Data in Local Machine.
I Do Not Want Publish or Move Data to Other Pcs
What DataBase Manager Software Must be Choose?
Not Different DataBase is Free or have a price.
what is the Best DataBase Manager Software to Save many Data in Local Machine?
For sure you are looking for a free database so for that you can use many databases like mysql ,postgresql , and sql server msde or access
but we still have other scenario, if you are going to distribute this application to other pcs so you have to think about deployment and in this case you can eliminate the mysql , postgresql because they depend on servers but msde (it's also server ) is much easier and you can found alot of tutorials how to deploy it with your project
It depends on how much you are expert in database and for what reason you are using it? are you going to need complex queries or it just a storage place for the data ?
if it's complex query i will go for msde for sql server if it's only for saving information may be i will go for access or even xml
Well if you are developing in C# consider using the MSSql Compact Edition. This allows you to create a local database and use it much like SqlLight. However, the support is much better, especially when you using Visual Studio. There you can find it as LocalDatabase under Data when you adding a new item. (Not 100% sure whether it is present on all versions of VS though).
Firefox has an SQLite Manager add-on.
I think the best choice depends on your needs, for example if you must synchronize data with sql server for me the best choise was sql express.
I would vote for SQL Express. You get essentially a scaled down SQL Server that is capable of working with quite a bit of data. SQL Express plays well with Visual Studio and you will be able to take advantage of the System.Data.SqlClient and related namespaces which come with the .NET framework out of the box. They are also better than the Odbc namespaces. Finally, there is a LOT of online support for SQL Express and, as far as I know, SQL Express's flavor of SQL (T-SQL) is the same as that of SQL Server. So should you one day need the flexibility of running with either or (local database, or server database) you will have it. Also, SQL Express is fairly commonly used in the microsoft world so you should be able to find lots of examples, if need by.
TurboDB for .NET from dataweb is a good solution, if you want a powerful engine with stored procedures and professional support from the manufacturer:
http://www.dataweb.de/en/products/dotnet_database.html
I'm currently planning the infrastructure for my future web project. I want to go the way Joel went with having one DB per client and now thinking which DB engine will be good for me. The best would be of course SQL Server, but I can't afford a full-blown version at this moment and I don't think SQL Server Express will be a good choice for the loaded service. Now I'm thinking of using PostgreSQL instead. Given that my development environment will be ASP.NET 3.5 with say NHibernate or LINQ to SQL, how much trouble will I have if I use PostgreSQL instead of SQL Server?
Thanks!
NHibernate works OK with PostgreSQL (whether the db is on Windows or UNIX-like OSes) and .NET works well with it using the Npgsql db provider.
The only "trouble" you'll get is of course PostgreSQL doesn't do T-SQL. In fact its PL/pgSQL stored proc language is closer to Oracle's PL/SQL than it is to MS SQL Server's T-SQL. So you'll have to recode your stored procs, and there will be some gotchas to watch out for if you do ADO.NET. If you use NHibernate, you probably won't have to worry much about that. No LINQ to SQL though, so tough luck for you.
PostgreSQL is scalable and works OK now with Windows (earlier versions didn't support Windows formally), and pgAdmin is a good management tool for it, you'll be able to do most of the stuff you can do with SQL Server's GUI tools with it in a short time.
I don't think it is a bad idea, but a great experience.
By the way NHibernate is the way to go Linq to Nhibernate is under heavy development and available in the trunk so if you do care "which I don't care" about Linq don't be scare to use it.
Why not start with SQL Server Express and migrate when you have the money? That way you can move toward what you consider ideal and reduce conversion costs.
If you go with PostgreSQL you won't be able to use LINQ to SQL. Currently LINQ only works with SQL Server (possibly Oracle). I'm not sure about NHibernate. Also, if you use PostgreSQL, last time I checked, they had dropped windows support. So you'll be looking into having a second box running Linux for the DB.
[EDIT]
It turns out PostgreSQL is supported on windows. I can't recall where I saw support being cancelled. Anyway, I've heard it runs better on Linux anyway, so you might want to look into doing that regardless.
These days,postgres works really fast with .net and it is as good or even better than the proprietary mssql