On The Margins

Saturday July 19, 2008

[ Code ] ACM Queue Magazine

Craig Russell (of Sun Microsystems Inc.) has written the lead article of ACM Queue special issue on object relational mapping (ORM): "Bridging the Object-Relational Divide". The opening sentence provides the motivation most succinctly: "Modern applications are built using two very different technologies: object-oriented programming for business logic; and relational databases for data storage."

2008-07-19 21:19:27.0 -- Comments [0] ; Permalink ; Trackback.
databases object-oriented object-relational orm persistence programming software technology

Friday July 11, 2008

[ Technology ] DTrace Envy

A colleague in our PostgreSQL team just pointed me to a "little" note on DTrace, which seems to be ignited by the work that Robert Lor and Jignesh Shah have been doing. (The PG presentation involving the Mac OS and DTrace is Robert's)

2008-07-11 00:03:02.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
databases dtrace linux open-source programming solaris technology

Tuesday July 08, 2008

[ Sun Microsystems Inc. ] Get Sun Research

To get Sun Microsystems research papers, turn here.

2008-07-08 17:27:21.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
research sun-microsystems technology

[ Technology ] Using Apache Derby / Java DB with Caroline

Here is another embedded use case for Java DB in a full Java environment: On Grid Derby-based Server. For more on Caroline, see here.

2008-07-08 17:21:00.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
caroline computing distributed grid programming research server software technology

Wednesday June 18, 2008

[ Technology ] PostgreSQL Surveys

PostgreSQL.org community pages contain some interesting surveys.

2008-06-18 00:22:43.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
databases postgresql software surveys technology

Monday June 02, 2008

[ Technology ] Community Statistics for Netbeans Database Usage

"The database support in NetBeans allows users to connect to a database and view and modify the database structure and data. These graphs show which database servers users connect to most often." Of particular note, besides the large usage of MySQL and Oracle, is the large usage of Java DB (Derby), and the significant PostgreSQL usage.

2008-06-02 13:20:38.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
databases development java javadb mysql netbeans opensource postgresql programming server software technology tools

Thursday May 22, 2008

[ Technology ] Sun OpenSolaris on Amazon Web Services

Simone Brunozzi writes about availability of OpenSolaris on Amazon Web Services.

2008-05-22 21:31:38.0 -- Comments [1] ; Permalink ; Trackback.
cloud-computing internet opensolaris opensource services software solaris technology web web2.0

Wednesday May 07, 2008

[ Networks ] The Self-Ordering Chaos of Communities

In the chaos of their buzz and movement, bees build amazingly ordered nests for their young.  So do many communities of practice.

2008-05-07 23:30:42.0 -- Comments [2] ; Permalink ; Trackback.
bees chaos communities order programming software technology

Monday April 28, 2008

[ Technology ] Java DB 10.4.1

The 10.4.1 version of Java DB, the world's most advanced Java database, has some really cool features -- asynchronous replication, table functions and JMX capabilities.

Sun engineers worked within the Apache/Derby community to develop these features: A great team. A great product. A great community! 

If you're a serious user of Java DB (and/or of Apache Derby) and plan to use this product in your business, you should consider the multi-platform, software support services for Java DB -- Sun's distribution of Apache Derby -- available at some amazing bargain prices at various service plan levels.

Sun provides support service plans for Java DB, which is, for all practical purposes, identical to Apache Derby.

2008-04-28 18:05:26.0 -- Comments [3] ; Permalink ; Trackback.
databases java services software support technology

Wednesday April 16, 2008

[ Technology ] Skype and Sun

Skype and Sun have much in common—including not only their leveraging of the Internet but also their support for PostgreSQL!

They are both Gold Sponsors of PGCon 2008. 

2008-04-16 00:45:23.0 -- Comments [1] ; Permalink ; Trackback.
community opensource technology

[ Technology ] It Runs Your Company

Monty's T-Shirt says it all.

2008-04-16 00:37:12.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
community opensource software technology

Tuesday April 08, 2008

[ Business ] Open Source Databases on the Rise

Christopher Lawton of The Wall Street Journal reports on the rise of the open source databases: The potential benefits in cost and flexibility have not been lost on customers. The market for open-source databases is expected to grow 35% to $270 million this year from $200 million in 2007, according to Gartner Inc. Among the earliest adopters are midsized companies, which don't always need the high-end features of conventional databases, says Carl Olofson, analyst with IDC, a market-research firm. For example, Sun Microsystems Inc. provides supported offerings of MySQL, PostgreSQL and Java DB (Apache / Derby) to its customers. If you're interested in discussion and community around open source database technologies for Solaris, see here.

2008-04-08 19:15:34.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
business community databases economics opensource software solaris sun systems technology

Wednesday April 02, 2008

[ Technology ] The Conference Around the Corner

For those living in the Silicon Valley and working on software for the Web, one of the best technology conferences of the year will arrive literally around the corner: MySQL Conference & Expo, April 14 to 17, 2008, here in Santa Clara California. 

2008-04-02 00:53:50.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
community databases software technology

Wednesday March 26, 2008

[ Telecommunications ] A Suggestion for Skype

Although there are scripts that can be used to have Skype call a particular number at a particular time—acting as some kind of an alarm—it would be great if Skype adds a time and alarm feature with time zone capabilities. I've personally used Skype to join global teleconferences from the U.S., India, Norway and Germany, and this feature would be very useful to me. (Perhaps, such a component already exists. If so, please leave a comment and let me know.)

2008-03-26 09:21:55.0 -- Comments [1] ; Permalink ; Trackback.
communications software technology telephony tools

Monday March 24, 2008

[ Technology ] A Solution!

Here's a "solution" from Ariel:

2008-03-24 18:11:10.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
autos engineering hardware motor technology

Thursday March 20, 2008

[ Sun Microsystems Inc. ] OSDB Events

The best way to learn about major open source databases (e.g. MySQL, PostgreSQL, etc.) is to attend developer and user conferences. Sun Microsystems sponsors many of these conferences and events. (This April, you can catch Sun folks attending the MySQL conference in Santa Clara, and in May, you can catch them at PGCon in Ottawa.) Finally, if you're interested in Sun technologies and databases, you should become a member of the OpenSolaris Databases Community and start contributing.

2008-03-20 01:06:17.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
community databases developers opensolaris opensource software solaris sun technology

Monday March 10, 2008

[ Business ] Systems: Exploration vs. Exploitation

When it comes to learning, systems and resources, James March has summarized it all:

Maintaining an appropriate balance between exploration and exploitation is a primary factor in system survival and prosperity. 

2008-03-10 08:11:07.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
innovation investment priorities products resources strategy technology

Sunday February 24, 2008

[ Economics ] Microsoft and Open Source Software

As the news of Microsoft's moves last week unfolds, strategists might find it useful to review "Dynamic Mixed Duopoly: A Model Motivated by Linux vs. Windows," by Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Pankaj Ghemawat of Harvard Business School.

Working Knowledge carries an interview with the authors.

2008-02-24 15:46:41.0 -- Comments [1] ; Permalink ; Trackback.
economics linux opensource software technology

Monday February 11, 2008

[ Technology ] "Asset Specificity" and Open-Source Software

Despite some excellent coverage of issues related to transaction cost economics of Open Source Software in The Success of Open Source (Harvard University Press, p. 193, "Business Models and Law"), Steven Weber may have misapplied Oliver Williamson's concept of "asset specificity" as an attribute of transactions .

Weber seems to be saying that Open Source Software, by virtue of its openness, will reduce asset specificity for those (including enterprises) who consume or use software, releasing them from lock-in. While the effect might be true, the reasoning diverges from the original meaning of the concept of "asset specificity," as coined by Williamson.

In The Mechanisms of Governance (Oxford University Press, pp. 59-60), Williamson states that his concept of asset specificity refers to "the degree to which an asset can be redeployed to alternative uses and by alternative users without sacrifice of productive value."

To clarify matters further, Williamson notes that there are varieties of asset specificities, e.g. (1) site specificity, (2) physical asset specificity, (3) human asset specificity ("that arises in learning by doing fashion"), (4) dedicated assets, (5) brand-name capital, and (6) temporal specificity. 

Let me elucidate the concept by giving some examples.

If I use some assets, say my Prius, to drive to the local supermarket to buy oranges, I have not used any assets specific to the transaction of buying those oranges. The transaction is a fully market-driven transaction. I could buy the oranges from a large number of groceries that do business near where I live.

Now, assume I'm an orange broker in Florida. I may station my operations site near the largest orange groves or near the largest auction market for oranges. I may buy some forensic equipment specific to orange analysis, and pay for membership dues in the orange auction market, etc. I may spend money to brand my brokerage service, calling it "Honest Oranges." Now, I've invested in assets that have a higher degree of specificity (in site, in physical nature, in brand capital, etc.) in order to carry on with the transactions I conduct as an orange broker in Florida.

Now, let's turn from oranges to software.

When it comes to software, we can have some in-dept discussion of each of the specificity types mentioned by Williamson and see if there are others. For example, the Internet, the digitalization of storage, content and distribution, has almost done away with "site specificity." You can consume software made in city A even if you live 12 time zones away in city B. On the other hand, some software must still be installed in a particular way and on particular hardware, generating a "physical asset specificity" effect.

The most important kind of specificity when it comes to software, however, is "human asset specificity."

When an enterprise uses open-source software, they still have this aspect of specificity to deal with. For open-source software, as for any software, human specificity arises in learning by doing fashion. In fact, human asset specificity governs the software transactions world much more deeply than many other product types.

Unless there is a backing from a supplier that has reduced the need for investments with high degree of "human asset specificity," the user of the open-source software will have to make such investments on its own.

This is exactly the reason why we see great consulting, services and integration businesses thrive around open-source software products.

2008-02-11 12:32:51.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
business economics opensource programming software technology

Tuesday February 05, 2008

[ Technology ] PostgreSQL 8.3 is Released

Josh Berkus has just announced the release of PostgreSQL 8.3. Bjorn Munch has posted a note on the release of the Solaris binaries for PostgreSQL 8.3 on the OpenSolaris database community discussion forum. Munch also has a wiki entry that describes how to build PostgreSQL for youself. (Important note: As should be expected, Sun provides support only for PostgreSQL versions that it itself ships with Solaris. While this should be kept in mind, we also like developers to know how to build and develop PostgreSQL on Solaris. Hence the wiki entry!) This, I believe, is the first time official Solaris binaries of a GA release of PostgreSQL become available also through PostgreSQL.org. About this release, there has been a lot of commentary in the press and in blogsphere. These were forwarded by a colleague. I selected some of the news and blog items below, giving the relevant links:

• PostreSQL 8.3 ups performance, XML support -- Computerworld AU, 2/5

• PostgreSQL 8.3: UUID, XML, ENUMs… -- Orangeis My Favorite Color, 2/4

• PostgreSQL 8.3 Released -- AjaxLine (also appeared on Massimiliano Dessì's blog), 2/4

• PostgreSQL 8.3 Released -- UNIX System Administration, 2/4

• Postgresql 8.3 released -- Profoss News, 2/4

If interested, you should also consult the official PostgreSQL 8.3 release announcement.

Finally, I would also recommend checking out Sun PostgreSQL web site and the OpenSolaris database community for discussion and other topics related to PostgreSQL and databases in general!

Addenda:

"Open Source PostgreSQL 8.3 Better Suited For Web Applications: New features include a full text search tool, improved overall throughput, and ANSI standard SQL/XML support ," InformationWeek, 2/7

2008-02-05 18:13:20.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
databases open-solaris postgresql programming solaris technology