Embedded database services specialist ITTIA announced that it has added SQL (structured query language) support to its lightweight, Linux-compatible RDBMS (relational database management system). The company says “DB-SQL” was designed specifically for use in embedded systems and mobile devices, including those that run Linux.

DB-SQL adds support for SQL to ITTIA's ITTIA DB DBMS, which was called “Fuel” when first launched. ITTIA DB previously offered only a C/C++ API. In addition to support for ANSI SQL-89, the new DB-SQL version adds support for “much of SQL 99 and SQL 2003,” ITTIA claims.

Written from scratch for embedded applications a few years ago, ITTIA DB is touted as an extremely small database with a runtime footprint measurable in kilobytes. It is available as a set of library files that can be embedded within applications; in this model, no external server is required. Alternatively, DB-SQL can be built up into separate client and server components that run as separate processes.

ITTIA DB architecture

One interesting feature of DB-SQL is that the database can be configured to use its own platform-independent file format for database files. This is claimed to let users transfer their DB-SQL applications between different systems as a simple file-copy.

ITTIA's open-source db.* database was used in this Oshkosh A3 HEMTT (Click for details)

Additional claimed features include:

• DB applications can be upgraded to support shared access over a network, with row-level locking based on isolation levels
• Transaction completion modes, such as group commit, to minimize I/Os
• Dynamic schema alteration said to streamline software upgrades

In an interview, ITTIA President Sasan Montaseri said, “With DB-SQL, all the coolness of enterprise SQL development is available at lightweight levels, and it's totally cross-platform. For example, you can develop on Windows and then use SQL queries in a Linux environment.”

Availability

DB-SQL is available in Linux, Windows CE, Windows Mobile, VxWorks, and QNX formats. Free beta evaluation copies of ITTIA DB-SQL 2.5 are available now in Linux and Windows CE/Windows Mobile formats for download here. ITTIA customers are said to include GlaxoSmithKline, VNU, Boeing, Moodys, Sandia National Laboratory, and Puget Sound Energy.

ITTIA also maintains the db.* database.

 
This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.