Gregory Burd

Developers tend to use the most familiar technologies. For data storage, that is the relational database. During design it's easy to see tables of data everywhere; however, not everything is relational in nature. When dealing with XML data or data easily expressed as XML, XQuery-based native XML databases (NXDs) present a viable and cost-effective alternative to relational databases, file system storage, or custom developed storage implementations. So, when is it time to consider an NXD? Can native XML databases really provide a better answer for your data storage needs? In this article we'll examine some guidelines to help answer that question. When to Consider a Native XML Database Do you have thousands of XML files? Is your XML data larger than 200MB? Are you trying... (more)

i-Technology Viewpoint: OpenSolaris, Get It While It's Hot!

Go ahead, download the source code for Sun's amazing operating system, Solaris. It's now been released. I just downloaded it in under 5 minutes using BitTorrent. Why? I have no idea. Because I could I guess. Or because I didn't believe it would ever happen. I used to work at Sun at one point, so I have some appreciation for what it took politically, not technically, to get to this point.... (more)