Prefered Database

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Gerald - 30 May 2004 16:20 GMT

Hello all,
I'm looking for a databases that I can include with my applications
that doesn't required the user to devote time to maintaining the
database other then a simple pack to reclaim space do to deleted rows.

If I was windows only, MS access would be my first choice as a desktop
database back end for my java applications.

But I prefer to be cross platform. Cloudscape was going to be my choice
for cross platform but IBM bought them out and took them off the market
as a free robust 100% java database.

Not interested in MySQL or Postgress SQL in this type of capacity. These
require too much maintenance and can't be provided to a user with a
simple install.

maybe an isam database might be what I'm looking for. Small and sweet is
all I'm looking for.

Any recommendations.

Thanks in advance
Gerald

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Murray - 30 May 2004 16:41 GMT

> But I prefer to be cross platform. Cloudscape was going to be my choice
> for cross platform but IBM bought them out and took them off the market
> as a free robust 100% java database.

Are you familiar with HypersonicSQL (hsqldb)? http://hsqldb.sourceforge.net/
Very lightweight, not particularly useful for large amounts of data, but for
small-medium databases it's adequate. Depends on your needs of course.

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Chris Smith - 30 May 2004 16:42 GMT

For use by a single application, you may want to consider hsql. It's
*definitely* easy to install and maintain, and it can be run in-process
if you like.

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Gerald - 31 May 2004 03:20 GMT

>> I'm looking for a databases that I can include with my applications
>>that doesn't required the user to devote time to maintaining the
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> *definitely* easy to install and maintain, and it can be run in-process
> if you like.

Thanks everyone for recommending this tool. It was exactly what I was
looking for.

small and compact.
No excessive libraries and dlls needed, just the jar file.
I can even embed the hsqldb.jar in my into my apps jar file and that's
all that needed for distribution, no seperate files to maintain

Perfect.

Thanks again
Gerald

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DM McGowan II - 30 May 2004 17:48 GMT

> Hello all,
> I'm looking for a databases that I can include with my applications
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
> Thanks in advance
> Gerald

I've not used this in production but my limited experience so far is that it
works pretty well for an embedded database engine.
http://weblogs.java.net/pub/wlg/306

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Lee Fesperman - 31 May 2004 10:07 GMT

> I'm looking for a databases that I can include with my applications
> that doesn't required the user to devote time to maintaining the
> database other then a simple pack to reclaim space do to deleted rows.
>
> If I was windows only, MS access would be my first choice as a desktop
> database back end for my java applications.

A Java DBMS would be the best choice. Others have recommended HSQL, but it is a poor
choice. HSQL is hardly more than a toy database.

> But I prefer to be cross platform. Cloudscape was going to be my choice
> for cross platform but IBM bought them out and took them off the market
> as a free robust 100% java database.

Cloudscape has never been free.

> Not interested in MySQL or Postgress SQL in this type of capacity. These
> require too much maintenance and can't be provided to a user with a
> simple install.

Additionally, you will need a different version for each operating system and machine
architecture you wish to run on.

> maybe an isam database might be what I'm looking for. Small and sweet is
> all I'm looking for.

A regular SQL database is the wisest choice.

I (naturally) would recommend my company's Java DBMS: FirstSQL/J, see my signature.

FirstSQL/J is virtually zero-admin. Its tables are self-organizing, so they don't even
require a 'pack' to remove deleted rows. FirstSQL/J will run on any system that your
Java application will and is easily packaged with your app.

Signature

Lee Fesperman, FirstSQL, Inc. (http://www.firstsql.com)
==============================================================
* The Ultimate DBMS is here!
* FirstSQL/J Object/Relational DBMS (http://www.firstsql.com)

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R.A.J. - 05 Jun 2004 21:55 GMT

FInally, I think this post will answer my question. I'm thinking of later on
down the road converting an Access database I created with a VB interface to
one done in Java. I've been searching all over for info, but I've seen
nothing in reference to Access. At this time, all I would to know would it
be similar to connecting as in VB and would the JDBC bridge work similar to
it, would I have to use an IDE other than Visual J++ to create the
interface? This would be my first time doing this and the database is being
used in the division of a small college I work for. Because of the
environment and the amount of data going into it, there isn't a need for a
large capacity DBMS.

> > I'm looking for a databases that I can include with my applications
> > that doesn't required the user to devote time to maintaining the
[quoted text clipped - 29 lines]
> require a 'pack' to remove deleted rows. FirstSQL/J will run on any system that your
> Java application will and is easily packaged with your app.

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Lee Fesperman - 06 Jun 2004 03:54 GMT

> FInally, I think this post will answer my question. I'm thinking of later on
> down the road converting an Access database I created with a VB interface to
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> environment and the amount of data going into it, there isn't a need for a
> large capacity DBMS.

Let me answer this in pieces.

Microsoft provides an ODBC driver for Access. It only can be used on Windows. Therefore,
it is platform-specific. There is no JDBC driver for Access.

In Java, you can use databases which provide only ODBC drivers through the JDBC-ODBC
bridge. Sun includes a JDBC-ODBC bridge with their standard distro, but they warn that
it is not intended for production use. I'm not sure that matters since I don't think the
Access is suitable for production use, either ;^) There are some commercially available
JDBC-ODBC bridges, but I have no experience with them.

So, you can use JDBC in Java to use Access. You don't need an IDE. Is it similar to VB?
Using JDBC in Java would be similar to using ODBC in VB ... actually quite easier. If
you're looking for an interface more high level than that, you may need an IDE or some
other interface layer on top of JDBC. I don't have any recommendations on that.

In general, you can create an application using JDBC that can utilize different back-end
databases. However, there are a number of complications, such as, significant
differences in SQL syntax. Most pay only lip service to Standard SQL. Solid guidelines
on surmounting these obstacles are rare to non-existent.

For other aspects of your questions, I would repeat the suggestions I made previously.

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R.A.J. - 06 Jun 2004 08:56 GMT

"> In Java, you can use databases which provide only ODBC drivers through
the JDBC-ODBC

> bridge. Sun includes a JDBC-ODBC bridge with their standard distro, but they warn that
> it is not intended for production use. I'm not sure that matters since I don't think the
> Access is suitable for production use, either ;^) There are some commercially available
> JDBC-ODBC bridges, but I have no experience with them."

That works out for me. I have the current version of the Java SDK. It's only
going to be used on Windows platform, so there's no need for it to be
neutral.

"

> So, you can use JDBC in Java to use Access. You don't need an IDE. Is it similar to VB?
> Using JDBC in Java would be similar to using ODBC in VB ... actually quite easier. If
> you're looking for an interface more high level than that, you may need an IDE or some
> other interface layer on top of JDBC. I don't have any recommendations on that."

This answers another important question---whether it would be similar to
working in VB. At the outset, just going over things, I thought that it
would be much easier in Java as well, but when I started reading about the
JDBC driver, it had getting second thoughts.

"> In general, you can create an application using JDBC that can utilize
different back-end

> databases. However, there are a number of complications, such as, significant
> differences in SQL syntax. Most pay only lip service to Standard SQL. Solid guidelines
> on surmounting these obstacles are rare to non-existent."

SInce SQL isn't a factor, I won't worry about it. And the fact of me having
to relearn SQL again is a reason.
Thank you for your help.

> > FInally, I think this post will answer my question. I'm thinking of later on
> > down the road converting an Access database I created with a VB interface to
[quoted text clipped - 29 lines]
>
> For other aspects of your questions, I would repeat the suggestions I made previously.

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Manuel J. Goyenechea - 01 Jun 2004 17:22 GMT

If you are looking for a database that is platform-independent, very fast,
small, very reliable and designed for objects without having to do OR
mapping take a look at Servertec Persistent Object Store,
www.servertec.com/products/pos.

> Hello all,
> I'm looking for a databases that I can include with my applications
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
> Thanks in advance
> Gerald

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