Embedded database

An embedded database system is a database management system (DBMS) which is tightly integrated with an application software that requires access to stored data, such that the database system is “hidden” from the application’s end-user and requires little or no ongoing maintenance. It is actually a broad technology category that includes database systems with differing application programming interfaces (SQL as well as proprietary, native APIs); database architectures (client/server and in-process); storage modes (on-disk, in-memory and combined); database models (relational, object-oriented and network/CODASYL); and target markets. The term "embedded database" can be confusing because only a small subset of embedded database products is used in real-time embedded systems such as telecommunications switches and consumer electronics devices.

Implementations

Major embedded database products include, in alphabetical order: Empress Embedded Database from Empress Software, Extensible Storage Engine from Microsoft, eXtremeDB from McObject, Firebird Embedded, ITTIA DB from ITTIA, Berkeley DB from Oracle Corporation, RDM Embedded and RDM Server from Birdstep Technology, SolidDB from IBM, SQLite, SQL Server Compact from Microsoft Corporation, Valentina DB from Paradigma Software, and VistaDB from VistaDB Software, Inc.

Empress Embedded Database

Empress Software, Inc., developer of the Empress Embedded Database, is a privately held company founded in 1979. Empress Embedded Database is a full-function, relational database that has been embedded into applications by organizations small to large, with deployment environments including medical systems, network routers, nuclear power plant monitors, satellite management systems, and other embedded system applications that require reliability and power.

Extensible Storage Engine

ESE is an Indexed Sequential Access Method (ISAM) data storage technology from Microsoft. ESE is notably a core of Microsoft Exchange Server and Active Directory. Its purpose is to allow applications to store and retrieve data via indexed and sequential access. Windows Mail and Desktop Search in the Windows Vista operating system also make use of ESE to store indexes and property information respectively.

eXtremeDB

McObject launched eXtremeDB as the first in-memory embedded database designed from scratch for real-time embedded systems. The initial product was soon joined by eXtremeDB High Availability (HA) for fault tolerant applications. The product family now includes 64-bit and transaction logging editions, and the hybrid eXtremeDB Fusion, which combines in-memory and on-disk data storage. In 2008, McObject introduced eXtremeDB Kernel Mode, the first embedded DBMS designed to run in the operating system kernel. Today, eXtremeDB is used in millions of real-time and embedded systems worldwide. McObject also offers Perst, an open source, object-oriented embedded database for Java and .NET.

Firebird Embedded

Firebird Embedded is a relational database engine, A.C.I.D compliant, supporting triggers and stored procedures, available on Win32 systems. It has the same features as the classic and superserver version of Firebird, except that two applications cannot access the same database at the same time: it acts as a local server for a single client accessing databases on a local machine. It exports the standard Firebird API entrypoints.

InterBase

InterBase® is a cross-platform, Unicode enabled SQL database platform and ideal for embedding within turn-key applications. Out of the box SMP support (Server Edition), SQL 92 compliance and support for Windows®, Linux, Solaris™, and Macintosh platforms. Ideal for small-to-medium enterprises.

ITTIA DB

ITTIA DB is a cross-platform embedded database for embedded system and intelligent mobile device software developers. ITTIA DB is a true relational database management system, supporting runtime SQL queries, isolation levels, write ahead logging, and B+ tree indexes. To support the wide variety of operating systems and hardware used in embedded development, ITTIA DB databases use a portable format that can be accessed with or without SQL through C and C++ APIs.

NexusDB

NexusDB is the commercial successor to the FlashFiler database which is now open source. They can both be embedded in Delphi applications to create stand-alone executables with full database functionality.

Oracle Berkeley DB

As the name implies, Oracle’s embedded database is actually Berkeley DB, which Oracle acquired from Sleepycat Software and was originally developed at the University of California. Berkeley DB is a fast, open-source embedded database and is used in several well-known open-source products, including the Linux and BSD Unix operating systems, Apache Web server, OpenLDAP directory, and OpenOffice productivity suite.

Raima Database Manager

Raima Database Manager, also known as RDM, was one of the first database management systems to be categorized as an "embedded database" when it made its debut in 1984 under the name db vista. Since its initial release RDM has been continually evolving and in 1993 a client/server version of the database was introduced into the market under the product name Velocis. It has been estimated that since its initial release RDM has been used by an estimated 20,000 developers and deployed in over 25 million embedded systems and devices worldwide. Today these two products are developed and marketed by Birdstep Technology under the product name RDM Embedded and RDM Server.

ScimoreDB

Scimore is an embedded database running on Windows. It performs fast and can easily handle millions of rows. This database provides full data reliability (ACID properties), manages heavy loads and includes features such as support for T-SQL, Read/Merge replication with ScimoreDB server, Full text search. Clients can access database via .NET provider or C++ library.

SolidDB

IBM's SolidDB is another embedded database bought by a large technology company. Originally owned by Solid Information Technology, SolidDB was acquired in January 2008 by IBM. SolidDB is a hybrid disk/in-memory, relational database and is historically used as an embedded system database in telecommunications equipment, network software, and similar systems.

SQLite

SQLite is a software library that implements a self-contained, serverless, zero-configuration, transactional SQL database engine. SQLite is the most widely deployed SQL database engine in the world. The source code for SQLite is in the public domain. Includes both a native C library and a simple command line client for its database.

SQL Server Compact

Microsoft's SQL Server Compact is an embedded database with wide variety of features like multi-process connections, T-SQL, ADO.NET Sync Services to sync with any back end database, Merge Replication with SQL Server, Programming API: LINQ to SQL, LINQ to Entities, ADO.NET. The product runs on both Desktop and Mobile Windows platforms. It has been in the market for long time, used by many enterprises in production software (Case Studies). The product went through multiple re-brandings and was known with multiple names like: SQL CE, SQL Server CE, SQL Server Mobile, SQL Mobile.

Valentina DB

Paradigma Software Valentina DB is an embedded SQL database with wide variety of features, including broad support for native implementations on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. It is available as a local engine for over 18 platforms. Developers can also use VDN to deploy a royalty free Embedded Server on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X, which also natively supports PHP and Ruby-on-Rails server side scripting. oracle corporation

VistaDB

VistaDB is an embedded SQL database written in C# and supports a number of features to make it compatible with SQL Server like T-SQL datatypes and syntax. The product runs on .Net platforms, including Mono. It has been in the market since 2004, and is used by many companies (Customer List).