Well, I didn't intend to start a fire.  At the heart of my question is the
desire to evaluate SAP DB as a multi-platform solution.  Once I build a
database application for my organization, I'd like to make it available to
other nonprofit orgs with similar needs.  Mac OS X is a viable server
platform (as well as *nix/PPC), and I would like to include it in my plans.

That being said, as a newbie to database application development, I'd like
to know what is working well for people out there using SAP DB.  I want to
develop an intranet database app accessible via web browser on any platform.
For production, I'd like to use an OpenBSD/intel server, but I'll settle for
Debian Linux if necessary (anyone using SAP DB on OpenBSD/intel?).  I would
like to do most of the development on a laptop (OS?).  Now for a really
basic question: can I run the database engine with the app on the laptop,
and _use_ the app via web browser on the same laptop?  Basically, I'm
wondering if I have to setup a separate database server running Apache and
connect from another machine, or if I can be self-sufficient on the laptop
during development.

I haven't bought the laptop or setup the database server yet, so I would
GREATLY appreciate suggestions/wisdom.  If I'm making erroneous assumptions
about this process, please be so kind as to point me in the right direction.

I have been testing out SAP DB on my NT workstation and am impressed.
However, I also feel compelled to include PostgreSQL in my evaluations (in
part by the far greater number of supported platforms, as well as the
greater amount of available literature).  Without starting any battles, I
would like to hear from people on this list who may have used Postgres, why
they have switched and what benefits SAP DB offers.  (I need to build a
database to manage donations, direct mail, volunteers and meal delivery
services.)

Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Ben
________________________________________________
Ben Green                                 215-496-2662 x141    
Database Administrator               www.mannapa.org
Metropolitan AIDS Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance
12 S 23rd St, PO Box 30181, Philadelphia, PA 19103
-------------------------------------------


> > this is not a really valid OpenSoured Answer, this is simply trash.
> 
> You mean trash as in
> Terribly
> Restricted 
> Answer to a
> Search for
> Help?
> 
> Or would the right answer be 'Use the source, Luke'? 
> 
> > Either Sap-DB _is_ OpenSource and GPL or it is not.
> 
> I don't quite understand how the GPL requires ports 
> for certain platforms. We have now released the sources 
> to the build tools, so porting is at least feasible. 
> I admit that it's more cumbersome than absolutely necessary.
> 
> > This promises are missed today:
> >     - CVS
> 
> That's terribly late. But then, no one jumped in to feed 
> the updates in ftp://ftp.sap.com/pub/sapdb/7.3/updates 
> into a CVS.
> 
> >     - autoconf/automake
> 
> 7.4 (released in source only) contains the hooks to 
> use autoconf. Converting the platform dependent sources 
> to use the autoconf #defines will take a while and it 
> isn't high on our priority list. But at least porters 
> can do the right thing by relying on autoconf.
> 
> >     - more Ports
> 
> I'm sure we never promised that one.
> 
> > Perhaps SAP should open more to the Linux/OpenSource Community.
> 
> Our ability to provide services is somewhat limited by 
> our development schedule.
> 
> Daniel Dittmar
> 
> -- 
> Daniel Dittmar
> SAP DB, SAP Labs Berlin
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> http://www.sapdb.org/

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