Re: ORACLE vs INFORMIX vs MS SQL SERVER

On 9 Nov 98, at 18:33, Axel Sander wrote: > On Mon, 9 Nov 1998 07:15:52 +0200, "Billy Wheeler" <billy@west.co.za> > wrote: > > >Could be useful, especially if you upgraded to IDS/UDO and got the > >ability to do contextual searches of your images... > > I'm still using an SE engine, so I can't say anything on IDS/UDO but a > database with the ability of analyzing images sounds strange to me. Well, check out Informix's Universal Data Option. It allows you to store WAV files and then query for all voice clips featuring Clint Eastwood, or store GIFs and query for all pictures of blue flowers, or store AVIs and and query for all AVIs featuring Cylon Raiders [one for the older generation] or query on 2- or 3-dimensional co- ordinates or.... > If you're using the images as external files you can > - backup und restore them independent from the database Why on Earth would you want to do that? But with UDO, you can stick the images into a separate DBSpace or BLOBSpace and with OnBar, you can backup at the DBSpace/BLOBSpace level. So you can do that. > - span the files over multiple disks and servers Can do that. > - burn the images on CD-ROM and use a jukebox Can do that. > - let external programs access the files directly without extracting > them from the database What does that help? > - let the external programs do their work and put the results back in the > database so I can create my reports on the extracted data Uhhhh...? > So I can't see any advantage on storing that large images in the > database. The advantages come in the form of being able to do content analysis within the database. Take it from me... :-) -- Ciao, Billy /Group Managing Director, The West Solutions Group: http://www.west.co.za \\ Drivel @ http://www.west.co.za/tasteless/ / \\ "Granted, Mr Wheeler's ideas are stupid and unreasonable, but he does own the company and I / think we should go along with him..." \\________________________________________________________________________________________________