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Re: General question: Oracle vs. "hand-written" database

From: Hans Forbrich <forbrich_at_telusplanet.net>
Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 16:27:24 GMT
Message-ID: <3B38BA86.68379CEC@telusplanet.net>

Direct answer to your question 'Is it conceivable that something writ...' is 'Yes, it is conceivable, but ultimately not cost effective except in a few select cases'. And apologies up front for the lengthy 'rant'.

I've seen companies create their own database 'system' and know that it can get very, very expensive in the long run from a maintenance, time to deliver such-and-such a capability, and people (burn-out) point of view. (Been there, got the T-shirt).

The exceptions in the past have been specialized databases (such as ultra high, real time performance & volume). The need for such exceptions is becoming less as companies such as Oracle meet those needs.

A few observations, based on experience:

  1. I sometimes view the 'database application' as having 3 parts: - the RDBMS (relational database management system - like Oracle); - the database (the constructs, such as tables, managed by the RDBMS), known in Oracle as a schema; - and the application (the program accepts/reports the data and that 'translates' the user request to a language suitable for the RDBMS)
  2. If you roll your own RDBMS and in effect write the storage mechanisms from ground up, you need to maintain that. That effectively means you are taking programmer time away from writing the important part - your application. Fundementally reclaiming that time is the reason why you obtain licenses for Oracle (or any other database manager).
  3. There is no such thing as a static database application. Once data starts rolling in, someone will find new and excitingly different things to do with that data. You ultimately want an RDBMS that will allow you to quickly adapt to the new requirements by supporting rich data types, appropriate security, rapid database (construct) changes and new applications or application parts to be added. Rolling your own frequently requires base level changes to support the new requirements, again taking time away from the application.
  4. By keeping the three part split in mind, you can also appropriately manage the resources - the RDBMS & database 'management' belongs to IT or an outsource shop, the application and database structure is maintained by a local developer (shop).
  5. Oracle technology products consists primarily of database manager, application server and developer suite. The database manager stores and manipulates the data according to the application; the application server is responsible for managing access and distribution/reporting of the data, especially via the internet; the developer suite is responsible for creating the application and database (structure) to be used in the first two sections.

A number of people will invariably say Oracle is expensive; many of those people will continue to buy third party workflow and messaging engines or build security mechanisms, demographic analyzers, text search engines and photo/document managers, not realizing what is inherent in the Oracle product.

Freely admitting bias, I feel that the Oracle technology would be appropriate for your environment in the long term.

HTH
/Hans

Mike Harlos wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I am the medical director for a palliative care program which is
> searching for a database that will handle about 1000 new patients per
> year, and be accessible over a network and over the internet so that
> those of us on call can pull up patient info and make entries.
>
> I am by no means a computer expert. I have put together a "temporary"
> database in Access on a stand-alone PC so that we can keep track of
> basic demographics, and produce reports regarding length of stay etc.
>
> Access is apparently not compliant with our province's privacy
> legislation, as it does not provide for detailed tracking of who made
> changes to what data at what time etc. I have been told that Oracle is
> compliant with these requirements, and I have been following this
> newsgroup to gain some understanding of its potential. I thought that
> we would be soon hiring a developer to put together an Oracle database
> for us.
>
> However, one of the quotes that we have relates to a database written
> in Basic, which on the surface seems to meet our needs.
>
> My question is:
>
> Is it conceivable that something written from the "ground-up" could
> compare with a database application built on a foundation such as
> Oracle? (This is where my naïveté no doubt shows). My (possibly
> invalid) assumption would be that while one may be able to write from
> scratch the means to store data, that the power of data retrieval,
> data integrity assurance, security/privacy, multiple simultaneous
> users, etc would be more reliable from an established product such as
> Oracle.
>
> My apologies if this is too general a question for this group; I
> didn't know quite where to ask it, and I value the opinions of those
> that participate here.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Mike Harlos
>
> --
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
> Mike Harlos MD, CCFP Email: mike_at_harlos.net
> Medical Director, Palliative Care Sub Program,
> Winnipeg Regional Health Authority
> Medical Director, St. Boniface Hospital Palliative Care
> Rm.A8024, 409 Tache Ave, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R2H 2A6
> Ph:1-204-235-3929 Pager:1-204-932-6231 Fax:1-204-237-9162
> PGP Keys: DH/DSS- 0x8CD85BCE RSA- 0xBBDB40B1
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Received on Tue Jun 26 2001 - 11:27:24 CDT

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