Re: SAP DB: The unsung Open Source DB

On Thursday 24 July 2003 05:00, Ned Lilly wrote:
> OPEN magazine has an interview with the head of SAP DB development, and
> talks quite a bit about the MySQL strategy:
>
> http://www.open-mag.com/8422483279.shtml

Interesting, but I'm not sure it's cleared anything up in my mind.

"What is significant about the MySQL/SAP deal is that the two companies’
strategic mix of strengths makes market growth, when it does start to happen,
pretty much inevitable"

Eh? Once X has happened, X is inevitable?

SAP AG still own and will support SAP DB (fair enough) but MySQL will have
commercial rights and will rebrand it. So I can buy SAP from MySQL but
they're not going to do the development on it, SAP AG will (but I can't buy
it from them). Presumably the support for MySQL's customers will be via SAP's
team.

There's a multi-year plan to "bring the code bases closer together" which
sounds like one of those big projects that always make me nervous.

The main thrust seems to be:
1. MySQL have a simple DB with a lot of users
2. SAP have a complex DB with few users
3. Let's bring the two together and get the best of both worlds!

That's fine, but my understanding of SAP DB's failure to attract a large
community was that:
- it had a lot of competition (MySQL/PG/Firebird...)
- it was tricky to compile/install
- the codebase was far from easy to get to grips with

I'm not clear how MySQL are better equipped to solve those problems than SAP
AG. Actually, I'm not clear that they're going to if SAP AG are going to
handle development.

Maybe it's me, but other than a marketing announcement, I don't get this.
--
Richard Huxton
Archonet Ltd