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:
| Database Server | Cost | Install | Admin | REALbasic | Cross platform | Multi Core | Small footprint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| REAL SQL Server | $500 | Easy | Easy | Plug-in | Yes | Yes | Small |
| PostgreSQL | Free | Moderate | Difficult | Plug-in | Yes | Yes | Medium |
| Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express | Free* | Easy | Easy | ODBC | No | No | Large |
| Oracle | Free* | Difficult | Difficult | Plug-in | Yes | Yes | Large |
| MySQL | $595* | Moderate | Easy | Plug-in* | Yes | Yes | Medium |
| FrontBase | Free | Moderate | Difficult | Plug-in | Yes | Yes | Small |
| OpenBase | $500+ | Easy | Easy | Plug-in | Yes | Yes | Small |
| Valentina | $300+ | Easy | Easy | Plug-in | Yes | Yes | Small |
| Firebird | Free | Moderate | Moderate | ODBC? | Yes | Yes | Small |
* 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.
October 31st, 2007 at 7:33 am
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