I need a pet opensource database to learn the principle of database design, can you suggest one for me.
+1 Being in the public domain, it also doesn't get more open source than this.
balpha
2009-08-03 11:30:23
Don't mention this to RMS.
innaM
2009-08-03 11:31:05
I said "open source", not "free" -- so I said "Jehova" anyway :-)
balpha
2009-08-03 11:32:25
For teaching I would prefer a DBMS that enforces foreign keys. SQLite does not.
finnw
2009-08-03 12:22:26
**if you're DB can't do FKs, you can't "learn the principle of database design"**
KM
2009-08-03 13:35:22
@Manni: RMS has no objection whatsoever to public domain or BSD software. He has what I consider an irrational objection to software he considers non-free, and he would prefer it if all software developers released under GPLv3. Heck, I don't know if public domain software is Open Source according to the OSI, but if not you can always slap an OSI-compliant license on it and it will be.
David Thornley
2009-08-03 15:21:27
@David: 1. I know. 2. Yes. 3. That's the point I was trying to make.
innaM
2009-08-04 05:35:26
+1
A:
I also would recommend SQLite, since you could do "EXPLAIN" on any statement and get the internal Pseudo-Code that implements the functionality.
The Pseudo-Code itself is documented and gives great example how a database could work internally. I myself learned a lot by looking at the explained statements.
Juergen
2009-08-03 12:17:08
Every SQL database I've ever used has this feature, in one form or another.
anon
2009-08-03 12:35:57
As Neil says, they all do this - search for "query execution plan". And it's not pseudo-code!
Peter Boughton
2009-08-03 13:04:00
@Peter + Neil: Yes, all databases have "EXPLAIN", I know. What I wanted to tell is, that the Pseudo-Code (yes, I insist, it is in SQLite!) of SQLite translates so easily to what is going on under the hood, that it can be used for understanding how the DB works. I don't think, that an abstract "query execution plan" of an oracle db could tell you the same.
Juergen
2009-08-03 13:59:06
Addon: I am sorry, when I hurt some of the db folks out there by badly explaining what I really mean. I try to do better next time ...
Juergen
2009-08-03 14:00:44
+5
A:
Not really pet but: PostgeSQL
- Not hard to install (at least at Windows)
- Feature reach
- Not too quirky
- Bundled with documentation (including tutorial and SQL reference) and tools (at least Windows version)
ymv
2009-08-03 12:29:52
A:
SQLite, as mentioned above. All the alternatives are a PITA to install (relatively). And if you're in a corporate setting, some uptight sysadmins frown on client/server packages. SQLite is a stand-alone program, one file per database, nice command line tools, fast. And price can't be beat. Lot's of big companies use it.
xcramps
2009-08-03 12:57:12
`aptitude install postgresql-8.4` is pretty darn easy (which, yes, will get you a working database). Suggest a new distro if its hard to install on yours.
derobert
2009-08-03 15:29:28
+1
A:
Apache Derby implemented in Java
CouchDB written in Erlang. It is document-oriented rather then rational.
Cassandra by Facebook
Artem K.
2009-08-03 15:13:07