Conference ulysse::rdb_vms_competition

917.0. "ORACLE V7 certifies 100% NIST compliance" by HGOVC::DEANGELIS (Momuntai) Tue Apr 23 1991 09:48

					NB. Internal Use Only

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oracle Corporation 
announced today that ORACLE is the only relational database management 
system (RDBMS) to score 100 percent with zero non-conformities on the 
full SQL Conformance Test Suite from the U.S. National Institute of 
Standards and Technology (NIST).  ORACLE is also the first RDBMS to be 
tested successfully with all four of the Embedded Language test suites 
available from NIST.

SQL standard conformance has become critical in federal procurements 
and is increasingly important in commercial software acquisitions.

Oracle tested the current production release of its relational 
database management system (RDBMS), version 6.0, and a version of the
next release of the ORACLE RDBMS, version 7.0.  The version 7.0 test 
results showed 100 percent compliance to the standard with zero 
non-conformities.  The version 6.0 test results indicate nearly 100 
percent compliance. 

Ken Jacobs, Director of RDBMS Marketing at Oracle, said, ``Oracle 
and other RDBMS vendors have often claimed to conform to the industry 
and federal SQL standards.  NIST's SQL Test Suite provides a vehicle by 
which these claims can be measured.  We tested both the current 
Production release of ORACLE (version 6) and the next release of ORACLE 
(version 7) to show a clear path to full conformance, including the 
optional Integrity Enhancement Feature.''

The SQL Test Suite from NIST tests for conformance to database 
language standards issued by the American National Standards Institute 
(ANSI).  ORACLE V6 and V7 were validated to Level 2 of the ANSI SQL89 
standard (Database Language SQL with Integrity Enhancement) and to the 
ANSI Embedded SQL standard (Database Language Embedded SQL) as adopted 
by the U.S. Government in Federal Information Processing Standards 
Publication 127-1 (FIPS PUB 127-1)

The mandatory and optional portions of the NIST SQL Test Suite 

                                                  

                                      ( 1 )



 -----       Oracle's RDBMS Validated as Completely         | 22-APR-91
|C I S|      Compliant 	   /                                | Business Wire
 -----       

include a test for basic SQL functionality, a Default Sizing Test, a 
FIPS Flagger Test (for flagging non-conforming extensions to the SQL 
standard), and an Integrity Enhancement Test (declarative referential 
and entity integrity).

``We are particularly proud of the breadth of our testing.  We 
tested each version from a wide variety of interfaces:  Embedded C, 
Embedded COBOL, Embedded Fortran, Embedded Pascal, and Interactive SQL, 
on a DEC VAX 6560 running VAX/VMS.  We also participated in the Beta 
program for NIST's Embedded Ada Test Suite, producing the same 
conformance results.  We look forward to testing ORACLE under 
additional environments in the future,'' Jacobs said. 

Joan Sullivan, Project Manger of SQL Validation Testing at NIST, 
said, ``More than 60 organizations have acquired licenses for the NIST 
SQL Test Suite, and five SQL implementations have been validated.  We 
are pleased that so many vendors and users have seen the value of an 
automated testing facility and an independent testing service to 
demonstrate conformance with federal database standards.  We are also 
pleased that Oracle Corporation has committed significant resources to 
conformance and to the successful completion of a formal validation.''
The results of Oracle's validation, to be published in the NIST 
quarterly ``Validated Processor List,'' are found in the following 
table.  Additional details of the validation will soon be publicly 
available in a Validation Summary Report.
-0-
*T
NIST Validation

YES indicates tested; NO indicates not tested.

ORCL6 ORCL7 INFMX SQL/DS Unisys ShareBase

SQL89 Level II Compliance     YES   YES   YES    YES    YES      YES
Integrity Enhancement Option  NO    YES   NO     NO     NO       YES
C Language                    YES   YES   YES    YES    NO       YES
COBOL Language                YES   YES   NO     YES    NO       NO
FORTRAN Language              YES   YES   NO     YES    NO       NO
Pascal Language               YES   YES   NO     NO     NO       NO
Interactive SQL               YES   YES   NO     YES    NO       NO
Module Language COBOL         NO    NO    NO     NO     YES      NO

*T


For further information about the NIST SQL Test Suite and for 
details of the Oracle results, please call or write:

National Institute of Standards and Technology

                                                  

                                      ( 2 )



 -----       Oracle's RDBMS Validated as Completely         | 22-APR-91
|C I S|      Compliant 	   /                                | Business Wire
 -----       

Computer Systems Laboratory
ATTN:  Software Standards Validation Group
Gaithersburg, MD  20899
(301) 975-3258

About Oracle


Oracle Corporation, headquartered in Redwood Shores, Calif., is the 
largest supplier of DBMS software and the third largest software and 
services company in the world. 

Oracle develops and markets an integrated line of software products 
for database management, computer-aided systems engineering (CASE), 
applications development, decision support and office automation, as 
well as families of financial and human resource applications.  Oracle 
products are available on PCs, minicomputers and mainframes, and ORACLE 
is the first and only database to run on massively parallel 
supercomputers.

The company offers its products, along with related consulting, 
education and support services, in 92 countries around the world. 
Oracle is a publicly held corporation whose shares are traded on 
NASDAQ/NMS with the ticker symbol ORCL.

For further information about Oracle, call Oracle corporate 
headquarters at 415/506-7000, or write to Oracle Corporation, 
500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood Shores, CA  94065.

-0-

Note to Editors:  DEC, VAX and VAX/VMX are trademarks of Digital 
Equipment Corporation.

















                                                  

                                      ( 3 )


Sigh...This kind of thing really chaps my hide (I think I've been living
in the American West too long ;^) ).

Yes, it's true that Oracle V7.0, which is only in Beta test and probably
won't be foisted off onto the unsuspecting public for a number of months,
was tested by NIST, who found no conformance violations.  However, NIST
has already told us that they're working on more comprehensive set of
tests that will be released in the next 5 or 6 months...wonder how Oracle
would do on that one?

What really upsets me is Oracle's claim that:
   The version 6.0 test results indicate nearly 100  percent compliance. 
I have seen the NIST summary report, and Oracle V6.0 had *more*
noncompliant features discovered than *all* of the other database systems
that have been tested *added together*!  In fact, there were 59 separate
nonconformities reported by the testing process.  The list, quoted
directly from the NIST summary report, is:
   2 schema
  14 C
  11 COBOL
  11 Fortran [sic]
  11 Pascal
   9 Interactive
     FIPS Flagger

How on earth can that be (validly) claimed to be "nearly 100 percent
compliance"?  When every other tested database system is added together,
they report only 20 conconformances altogether (11 other databases
summarized), so Oracle had 3 times as many!  Talk about your creative
marketing!  

Another interesting way of expressing this shows up in the next paragraph:
  The SQL Test Suite from NIST tests for conformance to database 
  language standards issued by the American National Standards Institute 
  (ANSI).  ORACLE V6 and V7 were validated to Level 2 of the ANSI SQL89 
  standard (Database Language SQL with Integrity Enhancement) and to the 
  ANSI Embedded SQL standard (Database Language Embedded SQL) as adopted 
  by the U.S. Government in Federal Information Processing Standards 
  Publication 127-1 (FIPS PUB 127-1)
As it happens, NIST specifies in FIPS PUB 127-1 *only* Level 2---there's
no option at all, though Oracle makes it sound like they took the harder
route. 

Two primary points:
 1) I wish our marketing people were as aggressive and creative as Oracle's
    (though I do cherish the essential honesty of our marketers and I really
    don't want *that* to change just to pursue more aggressive goals!).
 2) I am looking forward very much to the day when we *do* test Rdb/VMS
    formally.  I think that we will actually be more honestly conformant
    than anyone else, especially given the value of our module language
    implementation.  However, this will depend heavily on how well our
    eventual implementation of the multi-schema support really works, since
    we've chosen a less-than-optimal (IMHO) alternative.

Jim

    
    On a totally different track.....
    
    Is the rumour true that the Oracle Financial situation has improved
    since they changed their auditors ?
    
    I'm told Codd and Date are auditing the books as well as the 
    benchmarks now.
    
    Something about making the figures look better than they really
    are.       
    
    
    Iain.  :-)
    

Regarding the last remarks in .2:

    In my closing remarks in .2, I stated that:

       1) I wish our marketing people were as aggressive and creative as
       Oracle's (though I do cherish the essential honesty of our
       marketers and I really don't want *that* to change just to pursue
       more aggressive goals!).

    Today, I received a long and thoughtful mail message from one of our
    marketing people (whom I don't identify because I didn't ask
    permission to identify or quote).  This message pointed out to me a
    lengthy series of very productive and creative things that database
    marketing in Digital has done for some time now that exactly
    corresponds to what I was hoping we would do.  

    I was out of line to put such a critical remark into a public
    conference, particularly without better awareness of recent evolution
    of the progress we're making.  I offer my apologies to the database
    marketing folks and congratulate them on the excellent job that
    they're doing.  All I might ask is that these efforts be better
    "advertised" within the company and within Database Systems so that I,
    and we all, can see how well we're really doing.

    Jim

    Right,
    
    And still no information on when and how we will NIST Rdb/VMS. Looking
    at almost each corporate Rdb/VMS presentation (and also InfoNet)
    presentation, we mention ANSI SQL compliance. How about the proof?
    
    Henny Olthof, TP-DB Netherlands

    re:-.1
    
    Soon.  The goals of Rdb/VMS are to exceed any of our competions
    accomplishments in this area...and these goals will be met.
    
    -Jay
    

    please see note 933

    Great, that's the GOLD we need in competitive situations. Thanks DBS.
    
    Henny