Connectors link .Net to Oracle and Sybase

By Peter Judge, ZDNet.co.uk, 27 June, 2002 16:01

NEWS

Data connectivity company DataDirect has launched components that link .Net applications to databases from Oracle and Sybase. Although these databases can already talk to .Net applications through standard XML interfaces, these components use 100 percent managed code and will let developers use higher-level .Net functionality, said DataDirect. "We are the only people in the .Net world who can support Oracle and Sybase," said Brian Reed, vice president of business development at DataDirect Technologies. The next database to tackle will obviously be IBM's DB2, he said. "Our beta sites expressed most interest in Sybase and Oracle." When applications are built on the .Net framework, they call services from standard data connectivity components called 'data providers' that implement Microsoft's ADO.NET interfaces. However, data providers are either managed or unmanaged, depending on whether the code is managed by the .Net framework and runs within .Net's common language runtime (CLR). Managed components will work faster, and be more secure said Reed -- pointing out that DataDirect's components use managed code: "There is concern around Microsoft security, so we took the most secure approach." Database vendors are not creating these connectors themselves, he said, because. "It's not on their radar screen," said Reed. ".Net is so new and database vendors have other issues they are dealing with." "A lot of database vendors will assume that XML is how it will go in .Net," Reed added. "But If you just do XML, you don't get all the functionality of using .Net itself." Tools like this will allow people with widely available Visual Studio skills to do jobs that otherwise would require rarer XML skills. Functions like distributed transactions and meta data management don't exist in a solely XML world, according to Reed. He believes the market for .Net connectivity will ultimately provide a significant portion of revenue at DataDirect, currently a $43m turnover company. On the wider issue of whether such approaches allow Microsoft to lock vendors in, he is unconcerned. "Some people say Microsoft is open because XML is open, others say it is proprietary because.Net doesn't interoperate. I think that .Net is much more interoperable than anything Microsoft has done before. It is a clear shift in strategy." DataDirect is planning to expand its XML support, having taken on Jonathan Robie, formerly of Software AG, one of the developers of the Xquery language, by which applications can query XML applications. "Version 1 of Xquery is complete, and we are building products for that to make it a standard for the enterprise," said Reed. "It's been two or three years in making, so it was exciting when Jonathan expressed an interest in joining us." The company is now completely separate from its former parent Merant, having completed a full financial year, said Reed: "We've had a good strong year. We've set up well."

More enterprise IT news in ZDNet UK's Tech Update Channel.

For a weekly round-up of the enterprise IT news, sign up for the Tech Update newsletter. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the ZDNet news forum. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

ZDNet UK Live

@kevinmchapman. OK, I acknowledge that 'most' was a gratuitous throwaway comment as an afterthought and too presumptuous. As to proof, as you...

4 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

@BrownieBoy > Works really well for thieves.... >> Nice attempt to deflect the argument by tossing in a point that's totally >> irrelevant, even...

5 hours ago by Jack Schofield on AMD Ultrathins to challenge Intel Ultrabooks

fantastic that the so called piracy bills have been withdrawn. however, these anti-democracy supporters are still in the shadows so lets be alert...

6 hours ago by raskolnikof on SOPA, Protect IP support wavers in face of online protest

Please God no; teach them anything you like - thinking rationally, the uses and misuses of data, what data is and what it's not - but leave the...

8 hours ago by Tony Douglas via Facebook on Kids are the future. Teach ’em to code.

@Jack, > Works really well for thieves.... Nice attempt to deflect the argument by tossing in a point that's totally irrelevant, even it were...

23 hours ago by BrownieBoy on AMD Ultrathins to challenge Intel Ultrabooks

Make that 13 people now - I got refused today at Manchester airport. I thought I was up to date on this legislation - I knew of the EU ruling from...

1 day ago by bootlegger on UK airport body scans will not be opt out

Don't forget to check out apps like GoodReader or SlideShark either, they're indispensible for people on the go in presentation situations. Best...

1 day ago by tinycg on Four top iPad apps for people on the move

Well it seems there is something a number of us agree on. Why is the Ubuntu Unity launcher so ugly? I thought perhaps it was something to do with...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Duplicate comments are not made intentionally. Its very good to know that now you are keeping check on this problem because sometimes a commenter...

2 days ago by Freebies202 on Microsoft fixes blog comments, speeds up blogs with open source

"the very significant number of users" and "many (most) of us" - you have no evidence for these statements. It is a fact that most users are saying...

2 days ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint