Re: PostgreSQL port to pure Java?

ivelin(at)apache(dot)org (Ivelin Ivanov) writes:
> Has this subject been discussed before?
> I did not find any references to it in the archives.
>
> I think that a co-bundle between an open source J2EE
> container like JBoss and a scalable database like
> PostgreSQL will be a blast.
>
> There are several well performing comercial Java dbs
> out there and there is Hypersonic which is free and
> fast, but supports only READ_UNCOMMITED and is build
> to grow up to ~200MB.

I expect that the general reaction would be along the lines of "Shoot
me now."

Java does not run on many of the platforms that PostgreSQL runs on, so
the pursuit of a rewrite in Java would make PostgreSQL a whole lot
less widely usable.

If you want to take PG and do a rewrite in Java, the license does
permit that. Just don't expect to get a lot of assistance.

Others have suggested OCaml as an alternative; I would suggest
Standard ML to be preferable, since Moscow ML is available on somewhat
more CPU platforms. I _think_ that both OCaml and Moscow ML run on
more platforms than does Java. The strongly self-verifying nature of
ML strikes me as a better idea than Java. Ada would offer similar
benefits, at the cost of quantities of declarations that would make
your eyes bleed.

The more waggish proposal of Intercal is a _bit_ unfair as retort to
ML, though it seems quite apropos for Java :-).

I'll suggest SWI-Prolog, just to be troublesome :-).
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