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Re: (0)RDBMS for free text indexing

From: Peter Lancashire <Peter.Lancashire.PL1_at_bayer.co.uk>
Date: 1998/07/17
Message-ID: <35AF12D5.77A5@bayer.co.uk>#1/1

Bjug Boyum wrote:
>
> Hi,
> We are considering several rdbms alternatives for a database with mixed
> structured and free-text data (an infosystem for documentation of research
> in Norwegian universities and colleges). Our legacy data resides in a dos
> dbms (Advanced Revelation). We have currently redesigned it to a relational
> schema, and have implemented it on ms-sqlserver (which is the rdbms we
> currently are using for other databases). The text fields are mostly
> research project descriptions, result summaries, publication references and
> the like. We are looking for a system with built-in text indexing
> capabilities, for making this kind of information searchable via the web and
> in our user applications. Most of the major RDBMSes provide text indexing
> today, but we haven't seen any good independent evaluation of the products
> regarding this kind of functionality. So, I would like to hear if anyone has
> opinions or real-life experiences with text indexing in the following
> systems:
>
> Oracle 8.0 (with context cartridge)
> Sybase ASE 11.5 (with Verity snap-in)
> Informix 9.1x (verity, fulcrum datablade betas, excalibur text datablade)
> IBM db2 5.0
> (others?)
>
> I generally like oracle and informix for their OO features (particularily
> arrays/multivalued fields, which we have had in Arev for over a decade, and
> used extensibly in our applications). However, Informix 9.1 has no
> replication facilities (whitch we really need), and do not support ObjectIDs
> and references (which we really want). As for Oracle, their prices are a bit
> over the edge for us, and I also have an (irrational?) impression that
> oracle is more proprietary and difficult to administer than the others. I
> generally dislike the idea of running an oracle server in a relatively
> small-scale facility like ours. I really like sybase for its simplicity (and
> familiarity to ms-sql which i allready know), but have doubts about their
> 'snap-in' solutions. I'm also unaware of any plans they might have for
> implementing SQL3. The same goes for IBM, and for both sybase and IBM, the
> severe constraints on row size is also a major turn-off.
>
> Comments anyone? The current online versions of our R&D databases can be
> seen at http://www.nsd.uib.no/english/research/ (warning: they suck!).
>
> TIA,
> Bjug Boyum
>
> __________________________
> Bjug Boyum
> Norwegian social science data services
> http://www.nsd.uib.no/english

If I recall correctly, Revelation is an implementation of the database part of Pick. I used to know a bit of Prime Information, another version of it. Is there not a Unix version of this software which also has an SQL front-end? My rusty brain cells suggest something like UniVerse. It might save a lot of coding...

Incidentally, Pick has some nifty features yet to show up in standard SQL, apart from the array fields (also arrays in arrays?). One of them is (separate) input and output translation functions for columns.

-- 
Peter Lancashire
Information Systems Specialist, Bayer plc
Eastern Way, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP32 7AH, UK
Tel: +44-1635-562258,  Fax: +44-1635-562281
---
If all else fails, read the instructions.
All opinions are my own and not those of Bayer plc.
My Internet plumbing does not allow me to mail and post news together.
Sorry.
---
Join Infuse, the UK Informix User Group at http://www.infuse.org.uk/
Received on Fri Jul 17 1998 - 00:00:00 CDT

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