Interbase vs. SQLAnywhere
Rea Berryman
I am currently using Interbase 5.0 and loving it.
Others in our company are using SQLAnywhere. I know sooner or later I
will have a conversation with these guys and I would like to be able to
point out the major advantages of Interbase and to understand the major
advantages of SQLAnywhere (this is important).
I am not looking for flaming... I am looking for facts concerning each
product.
Does anyone have experience with BOTH products who can explain the major
strengths/weaknesses of each?
Thanks,
Rea
Ralf Hofer
Hi Rea,
unfortunately i have no experiences with SQL anywhere but i think the
best place to look for information about Interbase server is following link
to Interbase Corporation. There You can find a pretty good summary of facts
and even a comparision of Interbase Server with other SQL Servers.
http://www.interbase.com/products/ Select the <<Interbase White
Papers>> link.
Hope this helps.
--
RHO Informatik
Ralf Hofer
email: rhofer...@rho.de
(remove the _nospam)
Rea Berryman schrieb in Nachricht <34EBFD...@earthlink.net>...
Derek Davidson
Rea
I use SQLA 5.5.04 and used InterBase last at 4.x
From my experience, SQLA is far superior. Here's just a few reasons
why I say that:
1. Method of handling metadata with SQL Central far superior to using
WISQL in IB.
2. Almost impossible to achieve updateable views with IB but a real
cinch with SQLA
3. ODBC for SQLA is excellent but very poor (with limited
functionality) in IB. (This is important if your customers want to
perform ad-hoc queries on your data for example, through a report
writer)
4. Replication. SQLA has the ability to maintain a single core database
which it can replicate all or parts of to users connecting over a
network or modem using FTP, SMTP etc. Automatically deconflicts on
updates etc, etc.
5. NetImpact Dynamo - the ability to produce active web sites/pages
direct from your database.
6. SQLA is Cheaper! (Especially if you're going to be distributing a
large number of apps to customers - as we do).
I could go on - but I guess that's enough for now <g>
Derek Davidson
Get a FREE copy of DK's Audit Components for Delphi from my web site:
http://freespace.virgin.net/d.davidson
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(Remove the x to EMail me : der...@mksoft.com)
Michael J. Austin
On Thu, 19 Feb 1998 09:54:36 EST, Derek Davidson <derekx> wrote:
>6. SQLA is Cheaper! (Especially if you're going to be distributing a
>large number of apps to customers - as we do).
However, the run-time for SQLA does not support triggers and stored
procedures. If you want to develop apps that run on both C/S and
laptops, e.g., this will force you to put the business rules in your
application or develop two versions of the program. (I may be wrong
about this, but I don't think so. I have SQLA 5.5 and the run-time on
it definitely does not support triggers and stored procedures.)
Mike
Rea Berryman
Derek,
Thanks for the reply.
Does SLQ Anywhere have an equivalent to User Defined Functions?
Can you program directly to the API?
How many triggers can you place on each table?
Does it handle blobs well ie text, graphics, sound, etc?
Thanks,
Rea
Derek Davidson
Michael J. Austin
> However, the run-time for SQLA does not support triggers and stored
> procedures.
Hmm. That's not quite right. The SQLA database does support triggers
and stored procedures. However, Sybase also sell a standalone version
of SQLA which is single user for which you pay a one off price and have
unlimited distribution rights. The version I was referring to (which
has triggers and SP support) is the full version of SQLA which is STILL
cheaper than InterBase
> If you want to develop apps that run on both C/S and
> laptops, e.g., this will force you to put the business rules in your
> application or develop two versions of the program.
I think you'll agree that, based on my statement above, this statement
is completely false.
Matthew Pascoe
Derek,
I am interested in using the standalone version of SQLA. How will its a
performance compare with Local Interbase? Is there a native driver or do you
use ODBC? Any idea on what the upfront one off price is?
A colleague wants to use Paradox. What are the main advantages od SQLA over
a product such as Paradox or Access.
Thanks for your help.
Matthew Pascoe.
Derek Davidson wrote in message ...
Michael J. Austin
On Tue, 24 Feb 1998 09:27:43 EST, Derek Davidson <derekx> wrote:
>Michael J. Austin
>
>> However, the run-time for SQLA does not support triggers and stored
>> procedures.
>
>Hmm. That's not quite right. The SQLA database does support triggers
>and stored procedures. However, Sybase also sell a standalone version
>of SQLA which is single user for which you pay a one off price and have
>unlimited distribution rights. The version I was referring to (which
>has triggers and SP support) is the full version of SQLA which is STILL
>cheaper than InterBase
It's somewhat confusing because SQLA has both a standalone engine that
requires a separate purchase for each user and a run-time distribution
engine/kit that allows unlimited distribution. The former does support
triggers and stored procedures; the latter does not.
>
>> If you want to develop apps that run on both C/S and
>> laptops, e.g., this will force you to put the business rules in your
>> application or develop two versions of the program.
>
>I think you'll agree that, based on my statement above, this statement
>is completely false.
This statement is completely false only if your company intends to
purchase a standalone engine for every laptop user. If using the
run-time distribution engine, then the statement is completely true.
Mike
Derek Davidson
Matthew
> How will its a
> performance compare with Local Interbase?
I have never tried a direct comparison. I can only give you a 'feel' for it.
I find SQL A faster in almost all respects (with the very clear exception of
deleting records which takes much longer on SQL A)
> Is there a native driver or do you
> use ODBC?
Yes and yes. Reggatta systems produce a native driver (Titan) for SQLA.
However, ODBC is plenty quick enough as the SQL A driver is a very good one.
> Any idea on what the upfront one off price is?
Sorry, no. Go to http://www.sybase.com and look around. Alternatively call
1-800-8SYBASE
> A colleague wants to use Paradox. What are the main advantages of SQLA over
> a product such as Paradox or Access.
Many and various and far too many to go into in such a short time but:
Better security
Stored procedures
triggers
improved data integrity
Better speed (with larger number of users)
scalability
replication
Dynamic HTML script creation/publishing
That should be enough to be getting along with <g>
Rea Berryman
Derek,
I know you have given me a list of good things about SQLAnywhere but it
seems that Interbase can do exactly the same things.
Just out of curiosity, why have you selected SQLAnywhere over Interbase?
The reason I ask is that we have been very happy with Interbase but I
need to know if SQLAnywhere has capabilities that Interbase can not
match.
Thanks,
Rea
Karlheinz Späth
>Just out of curiosity, why have you selected SQLAnywhere over Interbase?
>The reason I ask is that we have been very happy with Interbase but I
>need to know if SQLAnywhere has capabilities that Interbase can not
>match.
>
I think SQLA has much more features than Interbase. Especially declarative
referential integrity constraints can save lots of time and code.
Furthermore there are good import/export functions included, HTML-ability
and much much more. I have changed from Interbase to SQLA. ODBC works fine.
Derek Davidson
Rea
My last use of InterBase was at version 4.x. Are you saying that
they've added the ability to perform Replication since then (as part of
the base product)? Also, are you saying that they have updateable
views and the ability to publish dynamic, live net pages as well?
Has the ODBC driver also improved? AFAIK, the it's still very poor
(another very important factor for us).
If so, then the gap has narrowed. However, when we got down in a
huddle with both Borland and Sybase, Sybase were more flexible in
licensing arrangements and were quite a bit cheaper for the volume we
were buying.
We haven't looked back.
Kevin Peterson
Derek:
If you configure the ODBC driver using rtdsk.exe, it will not support
stored procedures and triggers. The dbeng50.exe DOES support both, but you
are not authorized to distribute it royalty-free. What do you use for a
driver when you are running the replicated database on laptops or PC's that
are not connected to a server? You need to create and maintain a log file
for the remote replication to work and rtdsk.exe does not support that
either.
Kevin Peterson
Derek Davidson wrote:
> Michael J. Austin
>
> > However, the run-time for SQLA does not support triggers and stored
> > procedures.
>
> Hmm. That's not quite right. The SQLA database does support triggers
> and stored procedures. However, Sybase also sell a standalone version
> of SQLA which is single user for which you pay a one off price and have
> unlimited distribution rights. The version I was referring to (which
> has triggers and SP support) is the full version of SQLA which is STILL
> cheaper than InterBase
>
> > If you want to develop apps that run on both C/S and
> > laptops, e.g., this will force you to put the business rules in your
> > application or develop two versions of the program.
>
> I think you'll agree that, based on my statement above, this statement
> is completely false.
>
Derek Davidson
Kevin
Sorry for the late reply - busy at work.
We don't use the run-time version of SQLA. We entered into a contract
with Sybase to deliver the DBENG50.EXE and DBSRV50.EXE variants (that
is, the full blown product).
Again, pricing was excellent but I can't be specific (tied down in the
contract that I can't say - blah, blah)