We have a system written in C and running under Solaris & Linux that uses the Sybase CT-library to access a Sybase database.
We generate the table-definitions, indexes, stored procedures and C-code from an in-house developed DDL to reduce the amount of work and errors.
We would like to achieve database independence, so we can add (as a first start) Oracle support.
We're thinking about ODBC or ESQL/C, but having no experience with them.
What solution would you suggest (preferably a cheap and easy one, of course). Is it possible to have a single source solution?
I would highly recommend SQLAPI++ (with the downside, perhaps, that it is a C++ library). There is also unixODBC, though I have never used it in code -- only touched upon it while researching for portable database APIs. POCO also provides a uniform, portable API (though, again, in C++) for database operations, but last I checked it, that part of POCO was only in the initial stages of development.
ODBC will help you write a more portable system, but you will have to be careful to develop your SQL properly if you wish to leverage the underlying database, as the SQL itself may well not be 100% portable across databases, even with the different ODBC drivers.
iodbc
http://www.firstsql.com/iodbc/
or unix odbc
http://www.unixodbc.org/
Are probably among the "most portable" choices.
Regards
Friedrich
ODBC is going to give you far more portability options over ESQL/C.
I've been using iODBC to access SQL Server and mysql and have had pretty good results so far. I think it would work for Oracle as well, but that would depend on the ODBC driver and haven't had to try it so far.
Related
We have Delphi XE2. We are looking for a database for our application. We have tried Absolute Database and it supports most of SQL commands we need. I see most of Delphi users choose Firebird but it seems to hard to work with. I am so much confused about databases and licenses. Here are my problems:
When we choose a database, let's say Absolute Database, Firebird, MySql embedded etc. and if we have for example 3.000 customers, do we still need to pay to Database developers? Or is it one time fee? I am so much confused because they say when we buy, we can use it inside our building ( http://www.componentace.com/order/licenses.php ). But when we release our software, our customers will need to use the same database of course.
Absolute DB is easy to install and supports most of SQL queries. Firebird does not support most of SQL queries. Is this correct?
When we try to use Firebird, we use FlameRobin to design database. But when we try to connect using IB components, it says "Unable to connect database".
Thank you very much...
Firebird has no licensing fees at all. However, it's smart to help maintain this great project once you rely on it. There is a lot of ways to help Firebird project:
http://www.firebirdsql.org/#consider-your-contribution
Not correct. Firebird is very powerful and supports most SQL standards plus a great SQL extensions for stored procedures and triggers
Check your database connection string. It's usually something like server_ip:full_db_path if you're connecting over a network, or just full_db_path if local. You can always use an ALIAS in place of full_db_path. Make sure you have Firebird server running or, if using embedded, if it's installed correctly. Firebird has a great and very complete documentation and one of the best support groups on open source projects.
It depends on database. Absolute Database is embedded database, everything is included in your exe. Most database engines however are standalone, so they are installed as applications. It looks like if you buy commercial Absolute Database licence, no royalties are needed: http://www.componentace.com/order/order_product.php?id=8
Firebird supports most SQL standards. According to this answer, most SQL compliant embedded database is Firebird: Which embedded database has maximum SQL compliance, and concurrency support?
You must have some configuration issues with IB components, hard to say more without more information. On the otherhand, IB components are for Interbase, so you might find something else better, like UIB.
If you'll choose Firebird, then take a look at IBExpert. This is absolutely the best administration tool available for Firebird. But not cheap. =(
You should also look at Interbase, also marketed by Embarcadero, the Delphi vendor. Interbase is not the same thing as Firebird, which is probably why the IB components you mentioned didn't work.
Yes, each customer will usually have to purchase the IB database. However, there are additional choices with Interbase, depending on how you structure your application. Check how they work and see if they can fit better with what you are trying to do.
I reviewed different means for connecting to oracle db from Haskell. I found one, ODBC. Ideally, I wish to use an oracle client to connect. Do you know any other way?
Thank you.
Takusen provides direct access to Oracle DBs, however, the ODBC-enabled libraries, such as HDBC may be easier to use.
Look on Hackage for more options.
I have written an Oracle driver for HDBC largely inspired by Takusen and HSQL. It uses Oracle's OCI library for interfacing with the database.
I consider it experimental for now. But if you want to try it, you can find a darcs repo for it at http://thiagoarrais.com/repos/hdbc-oracle/.
Is it possible to use e.g. SQLite with PowerBuilder? I need an embedded open source database (no additional costs).
Like Bernard said, you'll need an ODBC driver, so as long as you're willing to go third party (if I understand the SQLite situation correctly), that should be no problem.
That said, if you have PowerBuilder, you have license to distribute the single-user SQL Anywhere run time engine. If no-cost is your only criteria, and you're only connecting locally, SQL Anywhere may be an option to evaluate. Not only is it an incredibly solid database, but there's a much larger base of documentation and experience connecting PowerBuilder to SQL Anywhere, so if you run into problems, you're more likely to get some help.
Good luck.
I don't believe that PowerBuilder contains a driver for native support to SQLite. But it definitely has a driver for ODBC, so that is always an option even if it isn't the most efficient one.
I used to use SQL Anywhere, but eventually ditched it for the reasons Joe Landau gave - can't change the schema using the distributable runtime engine.
I switched to Firebird, which has an embedded version, and that seems solid. The only issue is that the ODBC driver I'm using (Gemini), which seems to be the best one available, seems to have gone out of business. (I just checked - it seems to be available on other sites.) And you have to add the following to your PBODB*.INI file:
[Firebird]
PBSyntax='Firebird_SYNTAX'
PBNoCatalog='YES'
[Firebird_SYNTAX]
CreateTable='CREATE TABLE &TableName (::ColumnElement[::ColumnElement]...)'
ColumnElement='&ColumnName &DataType'
DropTable='DROP TABLE &TableName'
GetIdentity='Select gen_id(GEN_&TableName,0) from RDB$DATABASE'
I've been very happy with it. Using it for almost 2 years, with over 1,000 users, and no problems whatsoever. You can also easily switch to the Firebird server version if some users need that.
As noted, SQL Anywhere is available and solid. But it has a disadvantage--you can't change the schema using the run time engine. This makes it hard to, say, add a column to a db that you have distributed.
++ to the comments by DC on Firebird. One of the best free databases out there. I have used it for years for a PB application I sell to Law Firms.
Although I use the server version even if the target is a single workstation. Simplifies the deployment and the issue of adding workstations later if desired.
I use the standard Firebird ODBC driver at http://www.firebirdsql.org/index.php?op=files&id=odbc
There are two good GUI front database management tools that I hve used - IBOConsole and Flamerobin.
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
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I want to query a number of different databases mainly Oracle and Informix.
Can anyone suggest me some tool using which I can do this easily?
Try WinSQL lite at http://www.indus-soft.com/SynametricsWebApp/WinSQL.jsp. It is absolutely free and does not expire. It is only one file and does not come with any bulky DLLs. If you don't like it, simply delete the file from your hard drive.
An introduction about how to use it against an informix database can be found in this article.
I use and love DbVisualizer.
I like SQuirreL SQL Client. It's cross platform and database independent, and quite handy.
As a previous answer stated, WinSQL is one of the best "generic" sql query programs, although it is far from perfect. Generally speaking, the programs dedicated to a particular sql product are better (usually 3rd party products, not written by the SQL vendor). TOAD is a great program for Oracle (originally written by an Oracle employee in his spare time before being bought by Quest). TOAD has become a little bloated of recent versions, but is still a fantastic product. I think there are versions of TOAD for MySQL and maybe one or two others, however, the Oracle version is by far the best. When I last used Informix (2004) there was a reasonable 3rd party Java program whose name escapes me for the moment. The standard tools that come with Informix are from the dark ages (I used the Unix utilities that look a bit like DOS versions of Lotus 123), so anything else is better. I used WinSQL with Informix with great success.
The best alround one is TOAD
#littlegeek: Toad is not available for Informix. Additionally, the OP seems to want a single program that can query several different brands of DBMS, and you have to buy a different version of Toad for every DBMS you want to use it with.
Informix is not very well supported among third party database tool vendors.
Interestingly, Oracle' SQL Developer supports browsing (and converting to oracle) several databases, including SQL Server and MySQL.
Try the following:
Query Express (single 100KB executable, no install)
Query ExPlus (improved Query Express)
There is several options on this page: http://freewarehome.com/index.html?http%3A//freewarehome.com/bx/index.php%3Faction%3Dvthread%26forum%3D8%26topic%3D7136
GenDAT is not bad, but I am biased as I did write it ! It has been voted highly though.
I need cross platform now so I use Oracle SQL Developer which I think is great. It can handle other databases not just Oracle. Another good one (cross platform) is DB Solo.
I like Aqua Data Studio from Aquafold. It supports all of the major database players as well as some of the less including Informix. Great features like code beautification and syntax highlighting are perks.
We use Aqua Data
I have used Query Tool for years http://www.gpoulose.com/
It is lightwight and gets the job done.
However, I will also investigate some of the other ones listed here. Must say that SQLDeveloper and Toad are too bloated for my needs. I work on many different systems in any day, all at different clients with different security and down to very low-end machines. Having one simple tool and good SQL chops goes a long way!
I also would like to note that because I am installing it on new servers constantly, it needs to be free, or have an unlimited machine license. I'd be happy to pay for my own use of the tool, but need to be able to install it over and over again.