Databases: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 04:05, 11 February 2023

A database is a software program that handles the creation and storage of sets of data and in most cases also handles utilitarian tasks in relation to the dataset such as sorting & searching individual records inside the set, and with more advanced packages tasks such as the replication, visualisation and mining of data. Databases are primarily business tools although they can also be useful for the storage of personal information and they can be either intended for software developers or end users.

Alternatives to database programs

Databases are not the only tool available for storing and working with structured data and not always the best option you have. Software such as spreadsheets handle data, in particular business, financial and statistical data with aplomb, no matter if it is a classic spreadsheet like Lotus 1-2-3 or a more abstract tool like Lotus Improv and more specialised programs like accounting software, personal finance managers, PIM's and contract managers may solve the problem of storing and working with day to day business data in a more economical and easier to use fashion. However it is more frequent to see spreadsheets used where you should be using a database and not the other way around.

Hierarchical databases

Raima Database - Commercial

Flat file databases for OS/2

AceFile - Announced as available for OS/2 but possibly never shipped. - Windows version later sold by Lotus in bundles.
IBM Works - Discontinued but shipped free with eComStation and all versions of OS/2 Warp and later.
Symantec Q&A

Embeddable databases

SQLite - Open source
ST-Open - Assembly coded in-memory database - Open source

Other database systems

Business Basic - BB has built in ISAM like facilities.
COBOL - ISAM or VSAM facilities built in.

Database utilities

DB-Fill Commercial - Discontinued - Creates database files for testing purposes.
SQLite Browser - Create and edit SQLite files - Open source - Current.

Database front end development systems

Personal AS/2

Publications

Vintage EDM/2 database articles

Fernando Lozano

Introduction to Relational Databases (Dec 1998)
Accessing Databases Using Java and JDBC (Jul 1998)

DOS databases

Note that DOS flat file and free form databases are in most cases not worth investigating since they are in general even less powerful than the one shipped free with BonusPak as part of IBM Works. They are included in the listing here for completeness sake, however.

Relational Databases
Name	Last Version	Programming Language	Runtime Support	DBCS or Unicode	Macro language	NLS	Licence
Advanced Pick/DOS							Commercial
Alpha 4	8	No	Paid	No	Keyboard oriented		Commercial
Borland Paradox	4.5	PAL	Free	No	Keyboard only	FR, DE	Commercial
Condor		No	No	No			Commercial
DAC-Easy Base			No	No			Commercial
DataEase	5.5	DQL					Commercial
DataFLEX							Commercial
DataPerfect	2.6y	No	No	No			Former commercial, now freeware
EasyBase	11.4	Limited	Runtime	No			Former shareware, now freeware
Enable/OA							Commercial
Empress	4.8	Yes	Yes	No			Commercial
FoxBASE	1.21	xBase	Paid	No	No	-	Commercial
FoxPro	2.6b	xBase	Paid	No	No		Commercial
nanoBase	Release 1997	xBase	Free	No	No		Open source
pcVerse							Commercial
VP-Info		xBase	Yes	No	No		Commercial
Vulcan (Emerald Bay)		xBase like		No			Commercial

Flat File Databases
Name	Last Version	Programming Language	Runtime Support	DBCS or Unicode	Macro language	NLS	Licence
Symantec Q&A (F&A)	4.0					DE	Commercial
RapidFile	1.2					FR	Commercial

WinOS/2 databases

Note that WinOS/2 flat file databases are in most cases not worth investigating, since they are in general even less powerful than the one shipped free with BonusPak as part of IBM Works. They are included in the listing here for completeness’ sake, however.

Relational Databases
Name	Last Version	Programming Language	Runtime Support	Macro Language	NLS	License
Alpha 5		xBasic	Paid			Commercial
Borland Paradox	5.0	PAL	Free	Keyboard only	DE	Commercial
CA Visual Objects	1.0	xBase	Yes	Keyboard only		Commercial
DataEase						Commercial
Microsoft Access	2.0	Basic	Free	Keyboard only	DE, ES, FR, IT, PT	Commercial
Microsoft FoxPro	2.6				DE	Commercial
pcVerse						Commercial

Flat File Databases
Name	Last Version	Programming Language	Runtime Support	MBCS	Macro Language	NLS	License
AceFile	2.0	None	No		Keyboard only		Commercial
ButtonFile		None	No		Keyboard only		Originally commercial, now freeware

Java databases

Most java databased are intended to be used from inside other Java programs, typically using the JDBC mechanism although some support the Java EE database API as well, they can however be used as backends for PM programs, etc. All Java based databases support Unicode and through that mechanism DBCS on an OS/2 system.

Name	Type	Last Version	Programming language	Java EE API	Macro Language	NLS	License	Status
Apache Derby	Relational		No	Yes	No		Open source	Current

Publications

Andreas Heuer, Gunter Saake: Datenbanken — Konzepte und Sprachen - ITP 1995, ISBN 3929821311

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Databases are files
+A database is a software program that handles the creation and storage of sets of data and in most cases also handles utilitarian tasks in relation to the dataset such as sorting & searching individual records inside the set, and with more advanced packages tasks such as the replication, visualisation and mining of data. Databases are primarily business tools although they can also be useful for the storage of personal information and they can be either intended for software developers or end users.
-===Primary database systems===
+====Alternatives to database programs====
-[[SQL]] - [[xBase]]
+Databases are not the only tool available for storing and working with structured data and not always the best option you have. Software such as [[spreadsheet]]s handle data, in particular business, financial and statistical data with aplomb, no matter if it is a classic spreadsheet like [[Lotus 1-2-3]] or a more abstract tool like [[Lotus Improv]] and more specialised programs like accounting software, personal finance managers, [[PIM]]'s and contract managers may solve the problem of storing and working with day to day business data in a more economical and easier to use fashion. However it is more frequent to see spreadsheets used where you should be using a database and not the other way around.
-====Other relational database systems====
+====Hierarchical databases====
-* [[Rbase]]
+* Raima Database -  Commercial
 ====Flat file databases for OS/2====
 * AceFile - Announced as available for OS/2 but possibly never shipped. - Windows version later sold by [[Lotus]] in bundles.
-* [[IBM Works]] - Discontinued but shipped free with eComStation and all versions of OS/2 Warp and later.
+* IBM Works - Discontinued but shipped free with eComStation and all versions of OS/2 Warp and later.
+* Symantec Q&A
+====Embeddable databases====
+* [[SQLite]] - Open source
+* [[ST-Open]] - Assembly coded in-memory database - Open source
 ====Other database systems====
-* [[Basic|Business Basic]] - BB has built in
+* [[Basic|Business Basic]] - BB has built in ISAM like facilities.
-* [[COBOL]] -
+* [[COBOL]] - ISAM or VSAM facilities built in.
+==Database utilities==
+* [[DB-Fill]] Commercial - Discontinued - Creates database files for testing purposes.
+* [[SQLite Browser]] - Create and edit [[SQLite]] files - Open source - Current.
+==Database front end development systems==
+* [[Personal AS/2]]
 ==Publications==
 ====Vintage EDM/2 database articles====
-* [[Introduction to Relational Databases]] by [[Fernando Lozano]]  (December 1998)
+;[[Fernando Lozano]]
-* [[Installing and Configuring the Sybase SQL Anywhere Server for OS/2]] by [[Fernando Lozano]]  (November 1998)
+*[[Introduction to Relational Databases]] (Dec 1998)
-* [[Creating GUI Applications Using Java and mSQL]] by [[Fernando Lozano]]  (November 1998)
+*[[Accessing Databases Using Java and JDBC]] (Jul 1998)
-* [[Accessing Databases using Java and JDBC]] by [[Fernando Lozano]] (July 1998)
-* [[mSQL Revisited]] by [[Fernando Lozano]] (June 1998)
-* [[An introduction to mSQL]] by [[Fernando Lozano]] (May 1998)
-* [[Attention DB2 Developers]](August 1996)
-* [[Connect Your Data to the Web with Net.Data]] by [[John E. Peterson]](August 1996)
-* [[Extend DB2 Beyond the Ordinary]] by [[Ed Ort]] (August 1996)
 ==DOS databases==
-Note that DOS flat file and free form databases are in most cases not worth investigating since they are in general even less powerful than the one shipped free with OS/2 and eComStation as part of IBM Works. They are included here for completeness sake.
+Note that DOS flat file and free form databases are in most cases not worth investigating since they are in general even less powerful than the one shipped free with BonusPak as part of IBM Works. They are included in the listing here for completeness sake, however.
-{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"
+{| class="wikitable sortable"
+|+Relational Databases
+!Name||Last Version||Programming Language||Runtime Support||DBCS or Unicode||Macro language||NLS||Licence
+|-
+|Advanced Pick/DOS|| || || || || || ||Commercial
+|-
+|[[Alpha 4]]||8||No||Paid||No||Keyboard oriented|| ||Commercial
+|-
+|[[Borland Paradox]]||4.5||PAL||Free||No||Keyboard only||FR, DE||Commercial
+|-
+|Condor|| ||No||No||No|| || ||Commercial
+|-
+|DAC-Easy Base|| || ||No||No|| || ||Commercial
+|-
+|DataEase||5.5||DQL|| || || || ||Commercial
+|-
+|DataFLEX|| || || || || || ||Commercial
+|-
+|[[DataPerfect]]||2.6y||No||No||No|| || ||Former commercial, now freeware
+|-
+|EasyBase||11.4||Limited||Runtime||No|| || ||Former shareware, now freeware
+|-
+|[[Enable/OA]]|| || || || || || ||Commercial
+|-
+|[[Empress]]||4.8||Yes||Yes||No|| || ||Commercial
+|-
+|[[FoxBASE]]||1.21||xBase||Paid||No||No|| - ||Commercial
 |-
-!Name||Type||Last known version||Programming language||Generates executables||DBCS or Unicode||REXX Macros||Other macro language||Language||License!!Status
+|[[FoxPro]]||2.6b||xBase||Paid||No||No|| ||Commercial
 |-
-|[[Alpha 4]]||Relational||8||No||Paid runtime||No||No||Keyboard oriented||English||Commercial||Discontinued
+|[[nanoBase]]||Release 1997||xBase||Free||No||No|| ||Open source
 |-
-|[[Borland Paradox]]||Relational||??||PAL||Free runtime||??||No||Keyboard only||English & German||Commercial||Discontinued
+|pcVerse|| || || || || || ||Commercial
 |-
-|[[DataEase]]||Relational||??||??||??||??||??||??||English||Commercial||Discontinued
+|VP-Info|| ||xBase||Yes||No||No|| ||Commercial
 |-
+|Vulcan (Emerald Bay)|| ||xBase like|| ||No|| || ||Commercial
+|}
+{| class="wikitable"
+|+Flat File Databases
+!Name||Last Version||Programming Language||Runtime Support||DBCS or Unicode||Macro language||NLS||Licence
+|-
+|Symantec Q&A (F&A)||4.0|| || || || ||DE||Commercial
+|-
+|RapidFile||1.2|| || || || ||FR||Commercial
 |}
 ==WinOS/2 databases==
-Note that WinOS/2 flat file databases are in most cases not worth investigating since they are in general even less powerful than the one shipped free with OS/2 and eComStation as part of IBM Works. They are included here for completeness sake.
+Note that WinOS/2 flat file databases are in most cases not worth investigating, since they are in general even less powerful than the one shipped free with BonusPak as part of IBM Works. They are included in the listing here for completeness’ sake, however.
-{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"
+{| class="wikitable sortable"
+|+Relational Databases
+!Name||Last Version||Programming Language||Runtime Support||MBCS||Macro Language||NLS||License
 |-
-!Name||Type||Last known version||Programming language||Generates executables||DBCS or Unicode||REXX Macros||Other macro language||Language||License!!Status
+|[[Alpha 5]]|| ||xBasic||Paid|| || || ||Commercial
 |-
-|[[AceFile]]||Flat file||2.0||None||No||??||No||Keyboard only||English||Commercial||Discontinued
+|[[Borland Paradox]]||5.0||PAL||Free|| ||Keyboard only||DE||Commercial
 |-
-|[[Alpha 5]]||Relational||??||xBasic||Paid runtime||??||No||??||English||Commercial||Discontinued
+|CA Visual Objects||1.0||xBase||Yes|| ||Keyboard only|| ||Commercial
 |-
-|[[Borland Paradox]]||Relational||5.0||PAL||Free runtime||??||No||Keyboard only||English & German||Commercial||Discontinued
+|DataEase|| || |||| || || ||Commercial
 |-
-|[[ButtonFile]]||Flat file||??||None||No||??||No||Keyboard only||English||Originally commercial, now freeware||Discontinued
+|Microsoft Access||2.0||Basic||Free|| ||Keyboard only||DE, ES, FR, IT, PT||Commercial
 |-
-|[[CA Visual Objects]]||Relational||1.0||xBase||Yes||??||No||Keyboard only||English||Commercial||Discontinued
+|Microsoft [[FoxPro]]||2.6|| || || || ||DE||Commercial
 |-
-|[[Microsoft Access]]||Relational||2.0||Basic||Free runtime||??||No||Keyboard only||English, German, French, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese||Commercial||Discontinued
+|pcVerse|| || || || || || ||Commercial
+|}
+{|class="wikitable"
+|+Flat File Databases
+!Name||Last Version||Programming Language||Runtime Support||MBCS||Macro Language||NLS||License
 |-
+|AceFile||2.0||None||No|| ||Keyboard only|| ||Commercial
+|-
+|ButtonFile|| ||None||No|| ||Keyboard only|| ||Originally commercial, now freeware
 |}
+==Java databases==
+Most java databased are intended to be used from inside other Java programs, typically using the JDBC mechanism although some support the Java EE database API as well, they can however be used as backends for PM programs, etc. All Java based databases support [[Unicode]] and through that mechanism DBCS on an OS/2 system.
+{| class="wikitable"
+|-
+!Name||Type||Last Version||Programming language||Java EE API||Macro Language||NLS||License!!Status
+|-
+|[[Apache Derby]]||Relational|| ||No||Yes||No|| ||Open source||Current
+|}
+==Publications==
+*Andreas Heuer, Gunter Saake: ''Datenbanken — Konzepte und Sprachen'' - ITP 1995, ISBN 3929821311
 [[Category:Databases]]