I am writing a final year Uni project on web-database applications. I have reviewed MySQL and SQL Server as the two most popular web-based RDBMS.

My lecturer says if I have evidence that these are the most popular i have to cite it. Where could I find a list of the most popular web-based RDBMS, in terms of sales or usage??

Hi,

Not sure what you mean by a web-based RDBMS? Do you mean a RDBMS accessible from a web browser?

Go to www.microsoft.com/sqlserver for white papers supporting your thesis.

Jeff

To clarify,

Are MySQL and SQL Server the most popular databases accesible from the Web? (more popular than Oracle, DB2, Informix & Sybase?) in terms of use or sales.

If so, where can I find evidence of this?

Thanks

Martin

Basically you want to know what is the market share of each dbms. All dbms databases are accessible from a web browser. Thus using HTTP protocol I can access any dbms. It is the middle ware that connects your browser to the dbms.

Such middle ware is ODBC or OLEDB Provider software. it takes generic SQL and translates it to the dialect of the target dbms.

I think Microsoft SQL server has most installed seats. Then Oracle. MySQL is for children and I don't take it seriously.

I know that Microsoft OLAP server has just passed Essbase as largest market share in the OLAP area. See www.olapreport.com

My prediction is that Microsoft SQL Server will be the predominant database over the next 3 years. There are really only three top players now: MS, Oracle, IBM UDB the others are toy dbms's.

Sybase, aka slowbase, used to have a large share of the total market but they are going extinct.

Check the microsoft website or www.dmreview.com for statistics as to market share.

Jeff

I actually think I read somewhere that Access is the most popular database used for Web sites at least in terms of the number of Web sites. And that of course would be because it is used on a lot of small sites.

jeff, comments like "for children" and "toy" are not appropriate

your microsoft bias is showing, and it does not look good on you

you probably think linux is not a real operating system too

rudy
http://r937.com/

It's very hard to determine real figures, and few exist for the 'free' databases.

MySql is favoured with hosting companies running *nix.
Whilst Access is favoured for the cheaper hosting on Windows (SqlServer for the most expensive hosting).

Oracle, DB2, Informix and Sysbase are all more used for Enterprise level sites and for non-Internet work (such as the customer database at British Telecom which isn't web-facing).

As an indication you could cite Netcraft's web server listings...
http://news.netcraft.com/

These show the following splits of web servers:
Apache 63.72%
Microsoft (IIS) 25.95%
Zeus 1.81%
SunONE 1.59%

You can guess that Zeus and SunONE are run by larger corporations with support needs. Plus they only account for a small part of the whole.

With IIS it's undoubtedly going to be MS Access or SqlServer (though it is possible to install MySql or PostGres onto a Windows machine and for it to cope well).

With Apache it's most likely to be MySql (though again it's possible to ODBC through to another database)*.

This rather primitive deduction does support that the most prevalent database would be one that runs on *nix and integrates well with Apache. As Linux comes with Apache, PHP and MySql it's pretty obvious where to place your bets.

So I would guesstimate that MySql currently outnumbers the total of Microsoft databases on the web 2 to 1.

However... it should be noted that I'm not a MySql fan... I'm an Oracle fan... but it should be further noted that the site you're on runs on MySql


* http://news.netcraft.com/archives/20...truggling.html shows that no more than 7% of Apache installations are on windows which reduces the likelihood of Apache being run directly against MS Access or Sql Server.

MySQL is not as widely used in large "mission critical" environments as Oracle, DB2, Sybase and Informix. Yahoo uses it extensively and there was an article in the Wall Street Journal today about MySQL creeping into Oracle's market share and Cox Communications was used as an example. SAP also signed a deal recently with MySQL that will drop the MySQL codebase in favor of SAP's sapdb and use the MySQL name, it is estimated that it will be competitive with Oracle in a few years(but there is no telling how much Oracle will advance by then) there is a bit more to it but that is the basic idea of the SAP-MySQL deal. I don't know exact figures, but Oracle and DB2 probably have more market share in the high end, SQL server a little less in the highend but has a bigger share than oracle and DB2 in the lower end. Access is being used less for web connected db's than acces probably because of scalability in favor of the ability to have a dedicated transaction capable RDMS cheap with MySQL.

I wouldn't say MySQL is for children.

I think that a lot of IT Managers feel that if they drop 50 to 100K for a DB product they obtain instant success. I just finished a 500K purchase for Oracle products and Servers. The cost of oracle products was 5 times the cost of the hardware. I still have the same problems to deal with wether I chose MSSQL, MySQL or DB2 [ I no longer consider Informix or Sybase valid RDBMS products -- due to support issues MOHO]. As MySQL enhances the market share will grow -- provided they do not get greedy ( which I believe will happen at release 5 ). I feel there are three issues holding back MySQL ( 1. No View support. 2. No Forms support. 3. Limited SQL command set ). As the command set matures or expands this will influence the support for Forms and then View support will become paramount. Again MOHO! OH! Even though
I just finished the Oracle buy, the MySQL DB supporting my people will still be humming along on a Ultra60 and a Dell DLT 130Gig Disk Array. If it ain't broke I ain't going to fix it.