Embedded database

An embedded database system is a DBMS that is tightly integrated with an application that requires access to stored data, such that the database system is “hidden” from the application’s end-user and requires little or no ongoing maintenance. It is actually a broad technology category that includes database systems with differing application programming interfaces (SQL as well as proprietary, native APIs); database architectures (client/server and in-process); storage modes (on-disk, in-memory and combined); database models (relational, object-oriented and network/CODASYL); and target markets. The term "embedded database" can be confusing because only a small subset of embedded database products is used in real-time embedded systems such as telecommunications switches and consumer electronics devices. [Graves, Steve. [http://www.embedded-computing.com/articles/id/?2020 "COTS Databases For Embedded Systems"] , "Embedded Computing Design" magazine, January, 2007. Retrieved on August 13, 2008.]

Implementations

Major embedded database products include, in alphabetical order: Empress Embedded Database from [http://www.empress.com Empress Software] , "e"X"treme"DB from [http://www.mcobject.com/extremedbfamily.shtml McObject] , Oracle Berkeley DB from [http://www.oracle.com/database/berkeley-db/index.html Oracle Corporation] , RDM and RDM Server from [http://www.raima.com/ Birdstep Technology] , SolidDB from [http://www.solidtech.com IBM] , SQL Server Compact from [http://www.microsoft.com/sql/compact/ Microsoft Corporation] etc.

Empress Embedded Database:
Empress Software, developer of the Empress Embedded Database, is a privately held company founded in 1979. [Empress Software, Inc. [http://www2.empress.com/company/company.html] . Retrieved on June 12, 2008.] Empress Embedded Database is a full-function, relational database that has been embedded into applications by organizations small to large, with deployment environments including medical systems, network routers, nuclear power plant monitors, satellite management systems, and other embedded system applications that require reliability and power. [Mullins, Craig. [http://www.craigsmullins.com/Mullins-Embedded.pdf/ "Empress Offers an Effective Embedded Database Solution"] , 2005. Retrieved on June 12,2008.]

"e"X"treme"DB:
McObject launched "e"X"treme"DB as the first in-memory embedded database designed from scratch for real-time embedded systems. The initial product was soon joined by "e"X"treme"DB High Availability (HA) for fault tolerant applications. The product family now includes 64-bit and transaction logging editions, and the hybrid "e"X"treme"DB Fusion, which combines in-memory and on-disk data storage. In 2008, McObject introduced "e"X"treme"DB Kernel Mode, the first embedded DBMS designed to run in the operating system kernel. [Gorine, Andrei and Krivolapov, Alexander. [http://www.ddj.com/database/207401567/"Kernel Mode Databases: A DBMS Technology For High-Performance Applications"] , "Dr. Dobb's Journal", April, 2008. Retrieved on August 13, 2008.] Today, "e"X"treme"DB is used in millions of real-time and embedded systems worldwide. McObject also offers Perst, an open source, object-oriented embedded database for Java and .NET.

Oracle Berkeley DB:
As the name implies, Oracle’s embedded database is actually Berkeley DB, which Oracle acquired from Sleepycat Software and was originally developed at the University of California. [ cite web
title =Berkeley DB
work =Wikipedia
publisher =Wikipedia Foundation
date =2008-06-12
url =http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_DB
accessdate =2008-06-12 ] Berkeley DB is an fast, open-source embedded database and is used in several well-known open-source products, including the Linux and BSD Unix operating systems, Apache Web server, OpenLDAP directory, and OpenOffice productivity suite. [Niccolai, James. [http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/02/14/75352_HNoraclebuyssleepycat_1.html "Update: Oracle Buys Sleepycat open-source database vendor"] , "InfoWorld", 2006-02-14. Retrieved on June 12, 2008.]

Raima Database Manager:
Raima Database Manager, also known as RDM was one of the first database management systems to be categorized as an "embedded database" when it made its debut in 1984 under the name db vista. Since its initial release RDM has been continually evolving and in 1993 a client/server version of the database was introduced into the market under the product name Velocis. It has been estimated that since its initial release RDM has been used by an estimated 20,000 developers and deployed in over 25 million embedded systems and devices worldwide. Today these two products are developed and marketed by Birdstep Technology under the product name RDM Embedded and RDM Server.

SolidDB:
IBM's SolidDB is another embedded database bought by a large technology company. Originally owned by Solid Information Technology, SolidDB was acquired in January 2008 by IBM. [IBM Corp. [http://www-306.ibm.com/software/data/info/solidinformation/] . Retrieved on June 12, 2008.] SolidDB is a hybrid disk/in-memory, relational database and is historically used as an embedded system database in telecommunications equipment, network software, and similar systems. [Monash, Curt. [http://www.dbms2.com/2007/12/21/ibm-acquires-soliddb/ "IBM acquires SolidDB to compete with Oracle TimesTen"] "DBMS2", 2007-12-21. Retrieved on June 12, 2008.]

SQL Server Compact:
Microsoft's SQL Server Compact is an embdded database with wide variety of features like multi-process connections, T-SQL, ADO.NET Sync Services to sync with any back end database, Merge Replication with SQL Server, Programming API: LINQ to SQL, LINQ to Entities, ADO.NET. The product runs on both Desktop and Mobile Windows platforms. It has been in the market for long time, used by many enterprises in production software ( [http://www.microsoft.com/sql/prodinfo/casestudies/cs-mobile.mspx Case Studies] ). The product went thru multiple re-brandings and was known with multiple names like: SQL CE, SQL Server CE, SQL Server Mobile, SQL Mobile.

References