[Search for users] [Overall Top Noters] [List of all Conferences] [Download this site]

Conference ulysse::rdb_vms_competition

Title:DEC Rdb against the World
Moderator:HERON::GODFRIND
Created:Fri Jun 12 1987
Last Modified:Thu Feb 23 1995
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1348
Total number of notes:5438

710.0. "Rdb for IMAGE & Gridded data?" by TPSWS1::ALLENPENG () Mon Aug 13 1990 06:16

Hi folks,

I have a customer who plans to develop application for weather broadcasting. We
are proposing Rdb as the database for his application.  However a consultant of
the client questioned about the Rdb capability for handling this kind of
application, because he thought
	
	- Rdb is for commercial DP processing, although it can handle, is not 
	  best for images, graphics, and gridded data access
        - Rdb performance is poor for handling bitstream/binary data

I don't have experience about this, so I am not sure about the consultant's
comments.  Could anyone comment about Rdb's capability in this field?  Do we
have benchmark result for this?  Do we have 3rd party solution?  Have
your heared about EMPRESS Software Inc.?

regards & thanks,
Allen

T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
DateLines
710.1Consultant = Big MouthMAIL::DUNCANGOracle... the one-line databaseSat Aug 18 1990 01:3435
>>	- Rdb is for commercial DP processing, although it can handle, is not 
>>	  best for images, graphics, and gridded data access
    
    None of the other VMS databases (O, I, or S) come close to offering
    "blob" support like Rdb.  For images and graphics, call the
    ADDS/multimedia folks in Atlanta .... you'll be glad you did.  Talk
    to Cyndi Peddigree.  If gridded access = 2 or 3 dimensional arrays,
    the consultant may be right because, in general, the relational
    model does not support the concept of repeating groups (ie arrays).
    However, I'm sure there are many applications with deviate from this
    for performance or other reasons.
    
    
>>    - Rdb performance is poor for handling bitstream/binary data
	
    I guess this consultant has run his own benchmarks and can show
    the numbers of his Rdb work ?  (Don't you just hate this when a
    guy shoots his mouth off without having personal experience !!)
    
    
>> I don't have experience about this, so I am not sure about the consultant's
>> comments.  Could anyone comment about Rdb's capability in this field?  
    
    Make the consultant show his numbers (and earn his $) and offer to work
    with "Mr. Smarty" to prove him wrong.  Rdb should do just fine ...
    thank you very much ... providing appropriate transaction design and
    physical design.
    
    
>> Do we have benchmark result for this?  
    
    Make up your own benchmark since the weather broadcasting metrics have
    not yet been finalized by TPC-A.  
    
    
710.2Empress is nice, but smallDC101::CASEYThu Oct 04 1990 15:278
    Haven't seen anything to touch EMPRESS's ability in imaging.
    The product supports 16-dimentional arrays and NOAA and Smithsonian
    have done some lovely things with it.  Because the product's so
    specialized, start-up time to write an imaging application could
    be less than 2 weeks.  But this Toronto-based company's very small,
    so support issues might be a problem.
    
    Elaine