Ask Group Inc, Mountain View, California has launched a new version of its relational database, OpenIngres 1.1, after more than two years in development. New database modules add greater access, distributed computing, transaction processing, and object-oriented extensions; an application programming interface for Windows and Macintosh and further support for industry standards, Ask says. It has also revamped the database’s core relational management engine. New to OpenIngres are support for BLOBS – Binary Large Objects – for multimedia applications, and a new module called the spatial object library, which is a class library of geometric objects for building geographical information systems. Other class libraries for specific vertical markets will follow. Support for transaction processing, via OpenIngres/DTP, is provided through X/Open Co Ltd’s XA interface and will enable the database to hook into IBM Corp’s CICS/6000, Unix Systems Group’s Tuxedo, NCR Corp’s Top End and Transarc Corp’s Encina transaction processing monitors. Access to IBM’s CICS and VSAM legacy databases is also provided for, the company says. Other enhancements include an application programming interface for Windows and Macintosh operating systems. This will enable developers to develop and deploy applications across each other’s systems, irrespective of where they came from. These new products will all be available from next month. A key enhancement to the engine is the Management Architecture, which provides an SQL interface that enables Ask and third party tools to monitor and control database activity on-line. New logging and recovery mechanisms have also been added. This technology will be released in the summer of next year.
