QCubed Documentation - Multiple Database types supported

Web applications, just like any other type of application grow and when they grow fast, you will find yourself in need of more than one database before you will know it yourself! There are multiple reasons for that. You might be needing to separate your products database from the one where you do your financial transactions. You might be having another one for a customer care front end and what not! Now, there is a huge possibility that the types of database you use will vary. For example, let us say you created your basic web application in MySQL but now, you want a more robust one for financial transactions and you want to go for PostgreSQL or may be Microsoft SQL Server!With QCubed, you will not face a problem! The good thing about RDBMS systems is SQL. In most of the cases, the SQL for all the databases will remain same and hence, the QCubed's querying mechanism (it's called QQuery) will take care of that!

QCubed supports the following databases:

MySQL: MySQL is the world's most popular open source database and by all means it is one of those things which has shot the sky in the open source arena. MySQL is used at some of the very very big companies like Yahoo, Google, LinkedIn and Facebook. For the Facebook fans - if you have ever seen a 'timeline', let me tell you: you have indeed seen MySQL in some serious action! Yes, Facebook timeline feature utilizes MySQL. Do no believe me? Search Facebook's engineering notes and thou shalt believe! With all such great things said, it is just to say that if you are a MySQL fan (and who isn't?) QCubed has got support for you.

PostgreSQL: This one database touts itself as world's most advanced open source database and that is no joke! With transactions and PL/Sql like stored procedure language, this is one database which robust and tested design. Moreover, you cannot state where this database is being used. PostgreSQL is MIT licensed (just like QCubed is) and is used in thousands of companies world-wide everyday. PostgreSQL has a lot of enterprise backing but you will probably not need them at all - it is just robust. Really robust. QCubed has got native support for PostgreSQL as well. You are not far from home.

Oracle: Oh yes, I named the behemoth. The one company no one would want to take on. World's largest database provider and the costliest one. It being the costliest one has got reasons which this blog would be insufficient to talk about. Although Oracle is hardly used in websites (unless it is a really huge enterprise running the website) but if you are planning to ride the giant, QCubed will get you the ladder to climb the giant's back!

Microsoft SQL Server: If you use Windows like the 90% of world, you have touched this database for sure, even if unknowingly. A part of MS SQL Server is present in all versions of Windows ever since Windows XP and that means at least 80% of people use it daily. Moreover, SQL Server is famous for being fast as well as reliable. Also, I do not feel the need to talk about enterprise support when I mention 'Microsoft'.

SQLite: Are you a fan of Apple? Love iPod, iPhone, iPad or iMac? No? Are they too costly? Well, if the answer, just like mine is 'yes', then you must have heard of iTunes! Everyone who loves music uses iTunes on Mac and Windows. On Linux, one would love Amarok! Whatever, all the apple products come with SQLite and there are a lot of other uses as well. Although SQLite is not really a great database for hard core database stuff, it is good enough for creating small sites. QCubed has its support, too!

Informix: Another behemoth - IBM - it creates Informix. QCubed has got support for this one too!

In case I have missed out some names, do tell me and I will tell you how easy it is to add support for databases in QCubed. Actually, all that you need is to create one file defining how QCubed should understand that database and rest will be taken care of. QCubed is indeed very flexible inside - almost everything is made in a way that you are not going to get stuck.

NoSQL please

Facebook uses MySQL but that does not mean that it is MySQL which takes in the load of about half a million requests per second. There are databases which are designed to handle really huge amounts of data and they do not talk in SQL. Databases such as Apache Cassandra, Apache HBase, MongoDB, VoltDB and CouchDB do not understand SQL. That is another set of databases and they are massively popular for varying reasons. A lot of famous companies use them as well! For example, MongoDB is used by Disney, Craiglist and Foursquare (among many others); Faccebook stores your chat messages in HBase and your likes and comments in Cassandra. I might have been successful in conveying that NoSQL is not a 'backward-class' citizen of the tech world. However, QCubed does not support this class of databases yet. The work is on however! We are in process of bringing in support for MongoDB. That will take time but it will be here!

As long as you are in intimate relationship with RDBMS world, QCubed will not disappoint you by any means!