As expected, Informix Corp yesterday announced the availability of a version of its flagship Dynamic Server (DS) relational database on the Linux operating system (OS). The Informix Dynamic Server, Linux Edition Suite includes a version of the company’s database server, Informix Client Software Development Kit, for building client-side applications linked to the database server; and Informix Connect, which includes ODBC and JDBC connectivity software and guidelines for linking to Apache Web servers. It will be available for download on December 24, from the Informix web site, the company said. Informix said the suite is available as a 30-day free trial, which includes free email technical support. It will also offer its standard technical support package after the software has been purchased. Pricing was not announced. This may sound like just another win for Linux, but porting its flagship database to the OS is also significant for Informix. When the company first dipped its toe in the Linux waters in July (CI No 3,458), it did so rather tentatively, making just its SE (standard edition) database available on the platform. At that time, at its user conference in Seattle, Informix’s VP marketing Diane Fraiman said the OS was just learning what it takes to play in the enterprise market….we don’t expect our large DS installed base to suddenly go for Linux…we don’t expect it to be a leading revenue generator. Yet just months later, when Informix announced it would port DS to Linux, it cited commercial opportunities, alongside developer demand, as the main reason for the move. With both SE, DS and its Dynamic 4GL tool all available on Linux, the company has only one remaining option, Universal Server, that’s not available on the OS. The latter comes as an option alongside DS and includes support for multimedia data, such as video and audio footage. But industry reports say that the company is currently developing plans to move that over too. In other related news, Berkeley software Design Inc said this week that it was adding Linux support to its BSD/OS operating system. The move will give BSD/OS access to major database applications, such as Oracle, Sybase and Informix, all of whom have produced versions of their products for Linux.
