Conference ulysse::rdb_vms_competition

RE:< Note 290.0 by NOVA::CARPENTER "Exiled Canard" >
>                           -< Internationalization? >-

>As most of you are aware, Rdb/VMS has been doing a lot of work in the area of
>Internationalization. To my knowledge, none of our competitors have been doing
>anything in this area, nor have they announced any plans to do so.
>Am I correct, or do any of you have other information?

Hmmm, no I don't think so.

FUJITSU, HITACHI, NEC and IBM Japan are supporting a national character type.

A national character type is needed to support a multi octet character set,
i.e. Kanji (Japanese), Hanji (Chinese) character sets.

Regards,
	hiro Yoshioka   as Japanese Rdb/VMS project

    The Oracle price list shows "national language support" as an option
    at 10% of the price of a given product.
    
    Ingres has multiple language support as well.
    
    ---- Michael Booth

    re:-.1
    
    What type of 'support' are these?  Does the user have the ability
    to modify collation sequences, change the semantics of character
    comparisons, redefine any user interfaces to the database environment
    to use 8-bit,16bit+ characters.  Are they able to define metadata
    names from different character sets....
    
    I'd like to know a bit more detail on what the competition
    supports/doesn't support.
    
    -Jay
    PS:.1 I'm aware of some of the Japanese Market space product that
    area made by Japanese firms (including IBM, Japan).  What I'm really
    interested in is say Oracle and Ingres.
    
    

RE:< Note 290.3 by NOVA::FEENAN "Jay Feenan, Database Systems Devel." >
>                          -< What's in that package? >-

IBM DB2 release 2 supports
Table names, comments, labels and so on can be Kanji characters.
Collation sequences: BUSHU (number of kanji character strokes), YOMI (phonetic
 sequences), DENWA (telephone directory order).

I'm not sure whether the use can modify collation sequences or not.

Regeards,
	hiro

    re:-.1
    
    But this DB2 product is similar to the JRdb product that I believe
    you work on...correct?  If I bought DB2 here in the states I don't
    think I would get this support...I would have to buy a "re-engineered"
    version of the product....just as a DEC customer would have to buy
    JRdb.
    
    Is this correct.
    
    I am still interested in inherent international support within product.
     Basically database systems that need small local changes with the
    features mentioned in my previous reply.
    
    -Jay
    

    Oracle's support for "national language" sounds much more like a
    foreign langauge implementation (much more like Japanese versions
    of Rdb).
    
    Ingres is written in two foreign languages as well as English. Again,
    this is not the kind of international support that Rdb will have.
    
    The trick is to be very specific when we define "internationalization".
    Otherwise, with our competitors offering foreign language versions,
    they can CLAIM the same international support.
    
    ---- Michael Booth

RTI is working on National Language Support as defined by X/OPEN.  I
would expect other vendors to follow suite.

I know of no vendor who has, or is planning, support as extensive as ours.

RE:.5
>    But this DB2 product is similar to the JRdb product that I believe
>    you work on...correct?  If I bought DB2 here in the states I don't
>    think I would get this support...I would have to buy a "re-engineered"
>    version of the product....just as a DEC customer would have to buy
>    JRdb.

    I think it's partially correct. Some facilities such as the collation 
    sequence would be added in Japan. I'm not sure whether you could get 
    the support or not.
    
    However according to "SQL/Data System Concepts and Facilities", 
    GH24-5013-2, IBM 1982, SQL/DS supports GRAPHIC data type which is used
    for DBCS (double byte character set). We don't have such data type yet.
    
    Regards,
    	hiro

    hiro,
    
    thanks for the info.
    
    -Jay