The NoSQL community threw out the baby with the bath water
The NoSQL movement has provided a whole new way of thinking about database architecture. NoSQL is understood to stand for "not just SQL," though most think of it as "not SQL." The reality is that a relational database model may not be the best solution for all situations. The easiest way to think of NoSQL is that it's a database that does not adhere to the traditional relational database management system (RDMS) structure.
The workload is able to easily grow by distributing itself over lots of ordinary, and cheap, Intel-based servers. A NoSQL database is exactly the type of database that can handle the sort of unstructured, messy, and unpredictable data that big-data applications require.
Why NoSQL? NoSQL combines high performance with high availability and offers a rich query language with easy scalability. NoSQL is gaining momentum, and is supported by Hadoop, MongoDB, and others.
San Francisco-based Splice Machine hopes to turn the NoSQL equation on its head.
Splice Machine provides the first SQL-compliant database designed for big-data applications. The Splice SQL Engine™ intends to provide all of what have come to be known as the standard benefits of NoSQL databases--benefits such as auto-sharding, scalability, fault tolerance, and high availability--while retaining the strengths of the industry standard SQL.
YesSQL?
According to a recent press release, it optimizes complex queries to power real-time big-data applications and enable interactive analytics without rewriting existing SQL-based applications and front-end business intelligence tools such as MicroStrategy and Tableau.
When I spoke with founder, Monte Zweben--you may remember him, as I did, from his company Blue Martini--we discussed the explosion of data being generated by users, applications, sites, and more. And how the sheer volume and velocity of data has overwhelmed traditional Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS).
The response for many organizations is to turn to big data or NoSQL solutions that are highly scalable on commodity hardware. These solutions are some of the same that I wrote about late last year, namely: Hadoop, MongoDB, etc. However, these databases come at a big cost; according to Zweben, they have very limited SQL support, and often cause organizations to rewrite their existing applications or business intelligence reports.
"The NoSQL community threw out the baby with the bath water. They got it right with flexible schemas and distributed, auto-sharded architectures, but it was a mistake to discard SQL," said Zweben. "The Splice SQL Engine enables companies to get the cost-effective scalability, flexibility, and availability their big-data, mobile, and web applications require, while capitalizing on the prevalence of the proven SQL tools and experts that are ubiquitous in the industry."
Built on the proven Hadoop stack, the Splice SQL Engine enables application developers to build hyper-personalized web, mobile, and social applications that truly scale while leveraging the ubiquity of SQL tools and skill sets in the marketplace, according to Zweben. The Splice SQL Engine also scales to handle business intelligence and analysis, and works turnkey with tools like MicroStrategy and Tableau.
Let me know what you think. But also, stay classy, San Diego.
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