Free access for embedded database: News from Ittia

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db.* is a powerful, small-footprint embedded database for open-source platforms, available from the Ittia website. db.* is the open source version of a database engine that has been developed and tested for more than 20 years, and been used successfully in tens of thousands of applications. Ittia is making it available to the public in order to promote its tech support and consulting business, and to promote Club Ittia, its embedded database community.

db.* is special among embedded databases because of its novel model.

db.* is a combination relational- and network-model database.

Relational databases are popular because of their ease of use, whereas network-model databases are extremely fast and have a smaller footprint.

db.* allows programmers to mix and match the two models to exactly suit their needs.

For example, frequently accessed data, or any data for which speed is paramount, can be stored in network-model and all other data can be stored in a relational model.

db.* also has many advanced features that one would not expect in a database with a footprint of less than 100Kbyte.

The database supports multiple users through its lock manager, and so different applications or different threads can all access the database simultaneously without worrying about corruption.

It has multistage database commits, so an application or OS crash will not corrupt the data.

The database engine in db.* is fast and reliable enough to use in real-time systems, and has been used in critical medical and scientific instruments.

Despite db.*'s many features, it is very easy to use.

The database is programmed through a C language API that will be very familiar to anyone who has used C.

The db.* user guide is very extensive and well written, and makes the learning curve shallow.

"We are very happy to offer db.* to the open-source community", said Sasan Montaseri, President of Ittia.

"It offers unmatched speed and features, and will enable embedded developers to save costs and decrease the time-to-market on new applications".

"It will also encourage the use of open-source software in embedded devices".

Ittia's database efforts go far beyond db.*.

Ittia is in the process of launching the second stage of Club Ittia, a community for embedded database development.

This community will allow developers worldwide to come together to share ideas and help each other solve problems.

Access to the forums will be free.

Paid Club Ittia members will also have access to db.* updates and beta programs, and enhanced support options.

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