At 11:53 am -0600 12/5/01, Scott Raney wrote: >But what we'd *really* like to see is for other ISVs to license the >engine to build products for markets that MetaCard only tangentially >competes in now. The one that's currently really crying out for >something like this is K12 education, where the dominant multimedia >authoring products like HyperStudio and Digital Chisel are suffering >from severe neglect by their owners and are rapidly losing market >share to psuedo-alternatives like Powerpoint and HTML editors. >Another example is end-user database products like Filemaker and >Access which because they lack a decent scripting language are much >more limited than something like MetaCard + a database back end would >be. Other opportunities include CBT (Computer Based Training) and >HTTP server add-ons (though Simon himself at least is working hard on >the latter ;-) Both for K12 and CBT products, database support is probably a big requirement (for backend administration anyway). I thought it might be useful to list up what the current database options are. Like others I guess, my knowledge is pretty spotty in this area, and I'd like to know I'm not overlooking any possibilities. It also might help any "taker upper" of Scott's suggestion to see what's needed. To kick off: 1. Metacard native options. Metacard stacks provide an easy way to structure and retrieve data. The main problem is the memory limitation as stacks are read entirely into memory. Not really an option for large databases. Use a combination of Metacard stacks and external files. Metacard can read/write external files, including binary data. Has anyone explored the limits of building a database system entirely out of Metacard and external files? I've done it with a file of 20,000 records containing about 6 fixed-length fields, and building a crude index in a Metacard stack. The results were fine for my needs, but I wonder if anyone has gone further, e.g. variable length fields, multiple tables, etc. I'm guessing it's not a viable option, but have no foundation for that opinion. Best to leave no stone unturned, right? 2. Valentina Has externals that work with Metacard on Windows and Mac. Linux version reported coming later this year. My (very) limited testing showed it to be a good performer on Windows. I don't think it's multiuser at present (I may be wrong), but I guess using a Metacard app as a server, it's possible to achieve this with sockets. It has a pricing structure that seems suitable for most Metacard developers. 3. FileMaker It's possible to connect with FileMaker using its "Web Companion" feature. FileMaker acts as a "cgi server". It can return data in xml format (as well as html). I played with this at the weekend, and was surprised how easy it was to set up. Using Metacard as an http client, you can perform most FileMaker data functions in this way. Currently Mac and Windows only, but a Linux version (server only??) was just announced for release in the summer. Licensing may be an issue. Connections are limited on the basic version. The "unlimited connections" web version costs about $1000. 4. MySQL, Postgresql, and other open source databases I believe you can connect with these using php, perl scripts, etc. and by using Metacard as an http client. How effective is this? Would it be better if Metacard had its own direct interface to these databases? Are there problematic licensing issues if you wanted to include these databases as part of a project? (GPL etc.) 5. The scarier stuff (Oracle, DB2, MS SQL Server, and other products marketed by men with nice suits and bulging eyes) How scary are these things? A little voice somewhere seems to be saying, "stay away". They conjure up images of racks of server, armies of consultants, and licensing fees that would bankrupt most countries. But for some projects (e.g. CBT in a corporate environment where everything has to go on the "house" database) it's probably necessary to deal with these things. What does it need to interface with from Metacard? With a single external, is it possible to deal with all ODBC compliant databases? Are there other less direct approaches? (as with MySQL, for example). All additions, corrections, experiences, and related comments welcome Cheers Dave Cragg Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Info: http://www.xworlds.com/metacard/mailinglist.htm Please send bug reports to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, not this list.
