Software Made Simple

Yesterday, REAL Software released REAL SQL Server 2007. So, what is REAL SQL Server and why should you consider it?

REAL SQL Server is a database server that is based on SQLite. With REAL SQL Server, you can actually take an existing SQLite database, put it in the server’s databases folder and allow multiple users to connect to it. And if you’re using REALbasic, you can do this with almost no changes to your existing code.Even better, REAL SQL Server is not a closed database that only works with REALbasic. You can also access your database using ODBC, PHP and C. With ODBC you can connect other tools to your database, perhaps to generate reports. And with the PHP support you can build a “web app” that has access to the same data as your desktop app. I don’t do C anymore, so that access is not useful to me.

Some of you might be aware that SQLite is a single-user database. So, how can you create a server that is based on SQLite?Well, REAL SQL Server is actually a sort of wrapper for SQLite. All database access goes through the server, which coordinates access to the actual SQLite databases. The creator of REAL SQL Server, Marco Bambini, gave a great overview of the architecture at REAL World 2007.REAL SQL Server is a fairly new product, so it is not used in a lot of places yet. But REAL Software is “dogfooding” REAL SQL Server by using it as the database for their forums* and feedback system.

So why would you use REAL SQL Server over another database? After all, REAL SQL Server costs $500 and there are lots of other databases that are much cheaper or even free. My reasons:

• Easy to deploy/install
• Easy to administer
• Nicely integrated with REALbasic
• Cross-platform
• Fast (uses multiple CPU cores)
• Small footprint

Now all of these aren’t unique features, but taken together I think they make for a pretty good database server.

I find that when designing an application for small companies it is always a challenge to deal with the database server. Some small companies won’t have a DBA or anyone who would be able to administer a more complex database.

Here are my thoughts on how other database servers compare to REAL SQL Server:

* MySQL is perceived as being free, but in reality it has rather complicated licensing, which most of the time does not allow it to be used for free. If you’re looking for free, PostgreSQL or FrontBase are better choices.

* Although there is a REALbasic plug-in for MySQL, using it requires you to GPL your application.* I think it goes without saying that the full versions of Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle are expensive.

* Update (12/27/07): I checked with REAL Software and it turns out I was mistaken about the forums using REAL SQL Server. 

In my new community evangelist role, I find myself frequently recommending that someone check out REALbasic. Frequently someone else will also recommend taking a look at Borland CodeGear Delphi. I’ve never used Delphi myself, but I always liked working with Pascal back in the day. So I’ve decided to check out Delphi by installing the free Turbo Delphi Explorer product. I’m not going to write elaborate blog posts about this process, but I will Twitter about my experience with it. My initial reaction is that it is big: 230MB just for the “prerequisites” and another 330MB for Turbo Delphi Explorer itself.

You can read my Twittering here: http://www.twitter.com/lefebvre

The original Shootout: Parallels Desktop vs. VMware Fusion has easily been the most popular article on this blog since it was written.   So far it has been viewed by over 6,600 people.  Since so many people are still reading it, I thought it would be a good idea to write updates based on the latest versions of these two virtualization tools.  I’ll start with Parallels since that is the one I use day-to-day.

The latest Parallels Desktop Release is 3.0 Build 5160, which was released on September 11, 2007.

Coherence

Parallels has greatly updated its Coherence functionality. Windows windows (it’s always weird to write that) are now treated separately by OS X and work correctly with Expose.  When dragging them around, there are very few artifacts that I notice.  I find myself using Coherence all the time now and miss it when I am using a Linux VM.

Performance

Parallels performance has also been improved since the original 3.0 release.  Right now I’d say it’s back to what it was in the last 2.5 release.  I find performance in Windows XP and Ubuntu to be very good.  Performance with Vista is terrible, though, but more on that below.

Related to performance, I came across an article, Fast XP on VM, on how to configure Windows XP for optimal performance on a VM.  It is written for Microsoft Virtual PC, but the techniques apply equally well to Parallels Desktop.
Boot Camp

I have Vista set up in Boot Camp and as a “Boot Camp VM” in Parallels. As I allude to above, performance is terrible. It’s so slow that I no longer even bother using the Boot Camp VM anymore. When I need to use Vista, I just reboot into it. I’m much happier that way and so is Vista. Unfortunately because I’m already a committed Parallels user, I never had a chance to test Fusion’s Boot Camp capabilities. I’d be hard-pressed to believe it’s any worse than Parallels is though.

I don’t really know if this is a problem with Vista or with Parallels, but it doesn’t really matter to me.

Other Notes

The disk compaction tool is now available again, but I haven’t had a need to use it yet.  I also haven’t needed to use the explorer tool, but it could come in handy for getting a file from a VM that is not online.

I’m glad Paralllels is getting regular, free updates. And I find that it works quite well for my needs.  The Parallels forums have more than their fair share of complaints about bugs, but I have to say that I’ve noticed none of these.  For me, Parallels work just fine.   And in case you’re interested, this is the software I use with Parallels Desktop:

• Windows XP Professional SP2
  • Visual Studio 2005
  • VPN into Windows network
  • Remote desktop
  • REALbasic and remote debugger
  • Firefox
  • Internet Explorer
  • Visual Basic 6
  • Outlook
  • Microsoft Office 2003
  • Rhapsody
• Ubuntu 7.04
  • REALbasic and remote debugger
  • Firefox