jdia@ur-tut.UUCP (Wowbagger) (03/16/87)
Does anyone out there in netland know anything about a database system called "Sybase" ?? It is supposed to run using networked suns, ibm-pcs, microvaxen, real-vaxen, pyramids, etc. It does this using either tcp-ip or decnet. The user interface uses menus (pop-down) and windows. It likes mice, but they are not required. They claim that to create an automated application one need write no code, just use their application generation system. Rules, triggers, etc. are implemented as part of the database, and therefore need not be part of the application. This sounds real good to me! If you have heard anything more, please reply via mail... -- //////////////////////////////////////// / Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged / / ...seismo!rochester!ur-tut / ////////////////////////////////////////
garyp@cognos.UUCP (Gary Puckering) (03/20/87)
In article <1094@ur-tut.UUCP> jdia@ur-tut.UUCP (Wowbagger) writes: >Does anyone out there in netland know anything about a database system >called "Sybase" ?? It is supposed to run using networked suns, ibm-pcs, >microvaxen, real-vaxen, pyramids, etc. It does this using either tcp-ip or >decnet. > >The user interface uses menus (pop-down) and windows. It likes mice, >but they are not required. > >They claim that to create an automated application one need write no code, >just use their application generation system. > >Rules, triggers, etc. are implemented as part of the database, and therefore >need not be part of the application. Sybase claims performance in the 35 transaction per second range on SUN-3 hardware in a multi-user environment (based on the time required to select a single row from a million-row table). They estimate this to be equivalent to 80 transactions per second on a VAX 8650 and 25 transactions per second on a MicroVax. Sybase supports the usual set of datatypes and some unusual ones: INT 4 byte integer SMALLINT 2 byte integer TINYINT 1 byte positive integer FLOAT 8 byte floating point (per hardware) CHAR(n) Fixed size character string up to 255 bytes VARCHAR(n) Variable-length string up to 255 bytes TEXT Text string up to 2,147,438,648 bytes (release 3.0) BINARY(n) Fixed length binary data up to 255 bytes VARBINARY(n) IMAGE Binary equivalent of TEXT BIT For boolean values (cannot be null) MONEY 8 byte, 15 digits, accurate to 1E-6 cents DATETIME 2 four-byte integers Using these base types, you can define your own. More information on Sybase can be obtained from: Sybase Inc. 2910 Seventh St. Suite 110 Berkely, CA 94710 (NB. This information was accurate as of June 1986) -- Gary Puckering 3755 Riverside Dr. Cognos Incorporated Ottawa, Ontario decvax!utzoo!dciem! (613) 738-1440 CANADA K1G 3N3 nrcaer!cognos!garyp
batman@apple.UUCP (Ken Laws) (10/07/87)
Hello again! Some months ago, I posted here looking for an RDBMS under UN*X. Thanks to all who responded. We are ***VERY*** close to choosing Sybase. Its performance leaves the others we evaluated in the dust (specifics? OK: Informix, Empress, Unify). Its SQL extensions are great, and yes, Virginia, you can back up the db without booting the users off of the system. Great. What I'd like to know, but naturally can't get from Sybase itself, is the negative side. Does anyone out there have a gripe with Sybase? Anyone know of something even whizzier for a VAX 11/780? (408) 973-4963 is the number to call and leave a message on if you can't mail to me. Thank You! -Ken Laws
navin@killer.UUCP (Navin Sharma) (11/06/87)
Hello dbms world! What do you know about Sybase, the new, hot UNIX dbms? Could someone post their personal opinions, facts, heresay on Sybase to the net please. My only contribution is to attempt to instigate the Informix, Oracle, Ingres (etc.) lovers out there by saying that Sybase is supposedly the first UNIX dbms to address the OLTP world seriously. Apparently, its "multithreading" capability allows the use of lightweight process inside a heavyweight one. It also uses asynch reads/writes to perform at the fast speeds that are its forte. Is this actually the case or are we being slickly outwitted? Has the UNIX kernel (or should I say the SUN OS kernel) been hacked extensively? Also, why does it not work with SUN's Yellow Pages software? Additionally, what is AT&T doing to support OLTP on UNIX? Thanks to all who care to comment. The Wheel is turnin', Navin Sharma Shearson-Lehman Brothers, Inc. New York, NY (201) 359-4421 (home # for threats)
roger@esquire.UUCP (Roger Reid) (11/09/87)
In article <2012@killer.UUCP> navin@killer.UUCP (Navin Sharma) writes: >Could someone post their personal opinions, facts, heresay on Sybase to the >net please. >forte. Is this actually the case or are we being slickly outwitted? Has the >UNIX kernel (or should I say the SUN OS kernel) been hacked extensively? Yes, the kernal is extensively hacked. You dedicate a machine to running the data server. Thus the comparison is against BLI's IDM, not against other software based systems. It's a good product that we would have seriously considered instead of our BrittonLees if we hadn't needed this about 6 years ago. We may yet buy one. Unfortunaly, their sales people aren't that sharp, but that's kind of universal, isn't it? Roger Reid cmc12!esquire!roger 212-266-0728
sdo@sfsup.UUCP (S.Orshan) (11/10/87)
In article <2012@killer.UUCP> navin@killer.UUCP (Navin Sharma) writes: > >Additionally, what is AT&T doing to support OLTP on UNIX? > >Thanks to all who care to comment. > > > The Wheel is turnin', > > Navin Sharma > Shearson-Lehman Brothers, Inc. > New York, NY > (201) 359-4421 (home # for > threats) AT&T is definitely doing something about OLTP. We announced the TUXEDO-TM Transaction Processing System two months ago, along with the 3B4000 multiprocessor. So that this does not turn into a commercial, I'll just tell you to contact your Data Systems sales person or send me mail and I'll try to get something sent to you. If you were at UNIX/EXPO or Comdex, you may have seen our exhibit. Scott Orshan TUXEDO-TM Department AT&T attunix!sdo 201-522-5063
twh@mibte.UUCP (Tim Hitchcock) (11/12/87)
AT&T's answer to OLTP is a DBMS called Tuxedo. It runs on all 3B computers.
yg@culdev1.UUCP (Yogesh Gupta) (11/14/87)
Has anyone done the standard TP1 (also known as ET1) benchmark on Sybase? For those that have not heard of it, ET1 is a fairly well known OLTP benchmark. What were the results? What was the environment? I would like any information that people may have. Yogesh Gupta
rbl@nitrex.UUCP ( Dr. Robin Lake ) (11/20/87)
In article <2012@killer.UUCP> navin@killer.UUCP (Navin Sharma) writes: >Hello dbms world! > >What do you know about Sybase, the new, hot UNIX dbms? >Could someone post their personal opinions, facts, heresay on Sybase to the >net please. > Suggest you look at an article in the new issue (Nov 1987) of Software News. The sidebox on pg 64 ff. has a well-reasoned perspective. Rob Lake BP America R&D -- Rob Lake {decvax,ihnp4!cbosgd}!mandrill!nitrex!rbl
lchirica@polyslo.UUCP (Laurian Chirica) (02/13/88)
We are looking at the possibility of acquiring SYBASE for a Pyramid or for SUNS. Is there anyone in the net land who has first hand experience using SYBASE? Could you please post your impressions? Thanks, -- Laurian M. Chirica Computer Science Department Cal Poly State University San Luis Obispo, CA 93407 (805)756-1332
monty@AUSTIN.LOCKHEED.COM (john montgomery) (02/17/88)
In article <1241@polyslo.UUCP>, lchirica@polyslo.UUCP (Laurian Chirica) writes: > We are looking at the possibility of acquiring SYBASE. > Is there anyone who has first hand experience using SYBASE? We have been using SYBASE for several months now. While my opinion in no way reflects that of my company, This is a short summary of what I think its good and bad points are: User Interface (In Sybase, The Data Workbench) GOOD: Very nice user interface, with pop down menus, easy to use data dictionary, excellent copy in/out features, a pretty versatile Report Writer, plus a lot more. Also provides VQL (Visual Query Language), which helps the novice in building joins, selecting columns, etc. BAD: The window for editing sql queries has a 3072 (as I recall) character limit. If you are doing some pretty fancy string matching, you can eat this up fast. What this means is that you have to edit your big queries using some other text editor, then run them using the more primitive query editor which they provide. Performance: GOOD: Since the DataServer is written in C, and appears to have been optimized a good deal, it is very fast. I haven't done any reliable benchmarks, but it certainly seems faster than RDB on a VAX, for instance. BAD: I haven't checked the new release yet, but in the old release certain types of OR's processed veerrrry slowly. System Administration/Data Security This is one of the areas in which Sybase really shines. The system provides a multiple level hierarchical permissions system, allows you to set permissions on a column by column basis within tables and views, and on execute permission on triggers, stored procedures, and reports. I have never had to use a "work-around" to protect data. Backup/Recovery GOOD: Sybase provides a good, simple tape backup, and strongly supports large databases which would require multiple tapes to backup. It also provides for transaction logging, so that incremental dailies can be performed. The system is very flexible, and backups can be done to cartridge or Unix file if so desired (although Sybase suggests that dumps be done to tape). BAD: If you have multiple small databases (by the way, what C J Date calls schemas are called databases by Sybase), Sybases restriction of one database per tape can really eat up the tape. I would imagine this would be especially frustrating if you had very volatile data, so that backups needed to be done quite frequently. Software Interface GOOD: Sybase supports interfaces to C, Fortran and Cobol, with an Ada version supposedly on the way. They take the 'library approach' instead of embedded SQL. The libraries are large, with a lot of functionality. BAD: Not much. Perhaps a little inconsistent in parameter lists. Form Generator They have a form generator/4GL called APT-FORMS. I've used this, and it's pretty nice. There are some licensing headaches though, esp. if you're bundling for resale. Summary: Sybase is a good product, but only fully realizes its potential in large, distributed applications. If you want a database for a small application, Sybase might be a little like swatting flies with a baseball bat. I hope that this was informative, and if the Sybase folks (who monitor this net, I know) find any inaccuracies in what I have said, let me know & I'll retract. John Montgomery
seavey@portia.PRC.Unisys.COM (Beverly Seavey) (03/08/88)
Can anyone recommend a good technical description of the relational DBMS Sybase? .
bobd@bloom.UUCP (Bob Donaldson) (07/16/88)
I am looking for any information on large scale, near-real-time applications implemented in Sybase. I am also interested in ANY info on the Sybase dialect of SQL. Has anyone out there implemented a large scientific/technical system in Sybase? What are the 'gotchas'? What are the advantages? How amenable is it to modular system development (especially complicated report formatting)? Please email responses to the address below (NOT TO THE RETURN ADDRESS ON THIS POSTING). I will summarize responses to the net if there is an interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Bob Donaldson ...!ut-emx!juniper!radian!bobd Radian Corporation ...!sun!texsun!radian!bobd PO Box 201088 Austin, TX 78703 (512) 454-4797 Views expressed are my own, not necessarily those of my employer.
birnbaum@paul.rutgers.edu (Rich Birnbaum) (07/25/89)
My company is in the early stages of developing a database application.
We are using Sybase (version 3.0.2, going on 4.0 soon, we hope)
and some quirks/bugs/problems have us a bit concerned.
I'd be interested to know if anyone has come across any problems, specifically
the ones listed below.
I'd also welcome any other comments, pro or con, regarding Sybase.
In particular, how you compare it to other client-server relational DBMS
products (Ingres Version 6) and how it performs on 'large' tables
(about 100,000 rows, with about 50 columns for a total of about 275
bytes per row). We will be joining such a table with a few smaller
tables quite often in the application.
1) When running a complex query, the Data Server sometimes consumes the entire
machine it is running on. By this I mean it uses close to 100% of the
CPU, users already logged in to the Data Server get no response and new
users cannot log into it. When this happens, we must kill the Data Server
process and start it up again.
2) The following queries, to my surprise, returned different results.
select *
from REGISTRATION
where not exists
(select * from DD_1556 where
REGISTRATION.FYNO_REG=FISCAL_YEAR and
REGISTRATION.DOC_TYPE_REG=COST_CENTER_1556 and
REGISTRATION.SERIAL_NO_REG=SERIAL_NUMBER)
returns 0 rows, while
select FYNO_REG,SERIAL_NO_REG
from REGISTRATION
where not exists
(select * from DD_1556 where
REGISTRATION.FYNO_REG=FISCAL_YEAR and
REGISTRATION.DOC_TYPE_REG=COST_CENTER_1556 and
REGISTRATION.SERIAL_NO_REG=SERIAL_NUMBER)
returns 6 rows, my expected result. Note that the queries are identical
except for the SELECT list.
Please post responses or e-mail to either birnbaum@pica.army.mil or
birnbaum@paul.rutgers.edu.francois@welch.jhu.edu (Francois Schiettecatte) (02/09/90)
I have been having some very nasty problems with APT-Workbench on Sybase. There seems to be a fatal bug with the sqlrow feature. Sometimes the rowname is stepped on and becomes a null string. This causes all sorts of problems because we the cannot address that sqlrow or assign a new row name to the channel. What is the longest char value that APT-Workbench can handle. That is not made clear in the documentation and I seem to be able to define variables such as variable sqlstring cha(5120) Does anyone have any ideas ? Francois
dav@island.uu.net (David McClure) (02/22/90)
To Sybase application programmers/developers/users/etc: Are there people interested in forming an email-conference for Sybase? I doubt there is enough support at this time for a specialized newsgroup, but perhaps even that is possible. In any case, this would be a convenient way to exchange information on Sybase design/development/implementation. If you're interested, please send me your email address and I'll try to compile the resulting collection into a mailing list. I understand there is an international users group sponsored by Sybase itself, meeting next in Jan 91. I'm also trying to get info about a local group here in the SF bay area, meeting March 6 -- anybody know details? *PS - If any of this is already being done, please notify me by email and/or post a followup. Thanks. -- David McClure > My opinions are not necessarily those of || serenity=>acceptance > my employer, or anyone else in this damnfool || courage=>change > world of ours; *think* for yourself. Rock on. || wisdom=>differentiate