Interbase Unofficial Site (www.cvalde.com) in Claudio Valderrama C. is a very good site introducing Interbase, there are many stories about Interbase. But I don't know why, this site disappears. In order not to let these interesting information will never disappear, I use the previous archive to translate some information and share it with you.
The first information is how Did Interbase APPEAR? (How does Interbase appear?)
The two characters in the story need to be introduced: Jim Starkey is the creator of Interbase, and Ann Harrison is his wife, and now is a Firebird's head, and Firebird is the name of Interbase's open source project.
The story is described by Ann Harrison, which is a long time ago.
Interbase is in the bathroom, located in a large bathroom with blue tiles in the Blue Tile 27, Masa, Masa, USA. Through the window of this bathroom, look at the outside of the trees, Jim Starkey "Found" later turned into interbase.
In the 70s, in order to have a relational database, JIM came to DEC. But the high people at that time believe that only network databases can support business applications. This misunderstanding was clarified four years later. In the four years, JIM is designed and written DataTrieve, a relationship query language running on a flat file and DBMS-32. DataTrieve users require greater flexibility, better concurrent control and atomic transactions.
DEC finally opens an arms welcome relationship technology, Jim is still responsible for DataTrieve. So another group began design, and later this product became RDB. This group begins to argue what is a relationship, what is a database. They check a large number of literature and began a warm discussion to discuss the degree of consistency, predicate lock and shielding technology. But they did not start coding.
Jim is impatient, starting to play with shadowing (SHADOWING, I don't know how to translate, I hope everyone ax is. Translator) technology. He believes that this is a way to provide repeated read without hindering updates. Then, when I took a shower one morning, he realized that it can also be used to prevent the conflict and cancel the failure. This Multi-Generational Database (Multi Database) was born during a shower.
Jim privately started the development of the database, he called JRD. DEC's management finds two relational database projects, formal projects and JRDs. The database war broke out.
During this time, it is a dark era, full of political wrists and hot email. Finally, Jim, Don Depalma and I decided, you should find a better way. We know Apollo computer, a local workstation company, want a separate database product. Apollo's management like JRD model. Therefore, Jim moved to the second floor, start writing code. The initial investment is only $ 243.50, bought a comfortable chair, and two file cabinets, these two file cabinets are supported by a door panel, and then use it when a table.
After the negotiations started after 8 months, we signed a contract with Apollo, and the funds began to flow. Don and I joined, I went to the second floor very hot room. Jim write code, DON write manual, I do all other things. The cat will sleep on the computer, the machine is everywhere, cat fur and debris, Apollo's on-site maintenance personnel will come once a week, cleaning with a vacuum cleaner.
Dave root leaving Apollo and became the fourth founder. After all, every company must have a sound adult. The empty room can't install us four, so the company has been extended to the balcony. Then we have customers and potential customers, as well as meetings and emails. The rooms have become a copy center and a transceiver room, the living room is used to meet. We all cook in the kitchen in the dining room, and the coffee pot is placed in the sink next to the main bathroom. We are not working at home, we live in work.
That winter, the lane turned into the snow road used by the Saab all-weather interception machine, cold, bend, and a row of trees next to it. Our first non-Apollo customer is from Santa Baba, California, almost sliding to the front yard, almost unable to stand straight. But in any case, he signed a contract.
The Groton Database Systems (Groton Database System) moved out of his home and moved into a office room, on a dry cleaning store. I have to go back to my bathroom.
The Groton Database Systems is a sudden name that burst. Its inspiration comes from how we can't find a name that can be retrieved through the trademark. We are naive new entrepreneurs, so, whenever you think of a name, we ask our lawyers "this OK?". Later, we only knew that the correct question should be: "If we use this name, can you give us a defense lawyer?" Later, we changed the name into Interbase. This change is a person suggested that this person will listen to the name "RRRRTTEN DATABASE SYSTEMS". "
Are we doing so hard? Create a relational database that does not block the way. An easy installation requires less or even manage, and can work within the application. We have experience in the network database: IDMS, SEED, DBMS-32. To use a network database, you really have to love fine-tuning, adjustment, learning, and also like your database. Interbase is for us who don't want to be so hard, we want to do our true work.
Multi-Generation Architecture - JIM Discovered Microstructure, eliminating the problem of stumping other databases. A reader can create a huge, consistent report, while other readers can continue to update the same batch of data. The transaction is also very simple; even crash recovery is also automatic.
Crash recovery is very important, because we use interbase to make the company to operate, from accounting, sales, and code management, all things. The power outage is very common: because the line is overloaded, the storm in August, or when the wire accidentally touches the machine's plug, the data recovery is as important as we and our throwing and customer.
Interbase is a good product, most of our customers are very happy. The company has increased to seven people, and the room has also become two sets. I used to be on the dry cleaning shop, now in the donut. Our insurance companies don't like the donut shop, but it is much better than dry shop.
This place has its own unique charm. Some places, the floor is very powerful. If someone turned in, it will be awkward. No corner is round. There are too many our computer, of course, the old computer is much more hot than today's machine, so we have an air conditioner in the end. Spring and autumn computing opportunities were frozen, so we prepared several hair dryers nearby to melt.
After more than one month in winter, the gas company sent us an estimated bill, the amount is $ 350. Our previous bill is one to two dollars, because we use a computer instead of gas to heat the room. Gas companies believe that we are stolen. They changed two tables, but the reading was still surprising. Finally, the sheet readers came to our office and acknowledged a large amount of heat.
We always have to fight hard with the purchase department, let the bills will be honored. Because our customers are generally big companies, they are very uncomfortable to deal with small companies. If we send a box, there is a shopping list, which is labeled "Support Update", then some companies can only pay for support for support. I really don't know how these companies do their rules. One of our customers is a division of the US Army Services, which is unclear. Their programmers want a course training. We rented a meeting room in the local hotel and let us look like a look. These two people are coming, with travel checks, or foreign travel checks for training payments. They are not willing to talk about their apps, and they are not willing to talk about what roles playing in the military feeding. I have never done it.
It looks like this, we don't do it, it is not good. DON finally convinced Jim, we should "wear": Dudley (DDL Utility), BURP (backup and recovery program), and Alice (all else (all other)), don't say anything. When someone wants to visit, we have made efforts, but do not do it. There is a banker to discuss a loan I want to arrange. He is smart, pointing out all of these computers, no more than two years, "Every time it is too time." Oh, ok, there are other banks.
Support is a key part of our business; when a company purchases a database, their investment is much higher than the price of the software. Word of mouth is our best advertisement, our job is to help our customers have succeeded. Most questions can be done with a phone. However, a large Air Aerospace of Garrya has a problem, we can't resolve remotely.
Records are randomly lost from abnormalities in the database. Engineers are very sure that they are not his procedure, he said he can gamble. JIM flew with the source code package, developed a debugging tool, and traced the problem back to a delete statement. This company has become a major customer, although their purchasing department is: We are too small, and it is very weird.
Can I open a company like InterBase today? Maybe it is impossible; the company developing a relational database is certainly fine. The expected value has increased and the price is dropped. We can sell only a few or a database of only a few command line tools in 1986. Today, customers need a design tool, analyze tool, rapid development tools and management tools, and have a well-designed a graphical user interface. And they hope that only one hundred dollars are paid for each.
Interbase
With your own income for five years, let us have some business experience before facing investors. Although the market is now a lot, it is necessary to attract enough customers to avoid starving to death, and the required budget has also increased much. Starting with no investment or no big trust funds, it is impossible today. Even at that time, people who have financial resources have been doing better than self-reliance.
Sybase
And it is
Groton Database Systems
Almost simultaneously, it has tens of millions of venture capital. They have many software in the media, and they have more software industry. But we have a lot of fun. I think it is because of luck.
