Oracle Corp is looking to expand its share of the low-end client database market by shrinking Personal Oracle7. It is also considering adding an object-oriented layer to the Blaze SQL engine from its Power Objects tool to set Blaze up as a stand-alone application. The company plans to halve the current 16Mb memory required for the forthcoming Personal Oracle7 for Windows95 version by repartitioning the database, Nimish Mehta, vice-president of desktop products told the US edition of PC Week. It also requires up to 45Mb of disk space, but this is not viewed as a hindrance by the company. Blaze, the ANSI SQL 92-compliant engine at the heart of Power Objects, will have an application programming interface added and will have Open Database Connectivity support, according to Rob Bruce, client-server marketing manager at Oracle UK. However, it will not have replication or stored procedures, as these are not thought necessary at the low-end of the market. Bruce said that there was a very, very clear difference between the two products, adding that Personal Oracle7 guaranteed the integrity of data, which is not the case with products that Blaze will compete with, such as Microsoft Corp’s Access. Referring to Blaze, Mehta said There is a need for something lightweight and SQL that supports an object model. Personal Oracle7 for Windows95 will be shipping in November, with Blaze 1.1 following in the first quarter of next year, according to Bruce.
