Mobile database

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--mobile Devices database Management commonly called as Mobile Database' is either a stationary database that can be connected to by a mobile computing device - such as smart phones or PDAs - over a mobile network, or a database which is actually carried by the mobile device. This could be a list of contacts, price information, distance travelled, or any other information.[1]

Many applications require the ability to download information from an information repository and operate on this information even when out of range or disconnected. An example of this is a mobile workforce. In this scenario, a user would require access to update information from files in the home directories on a server or customer records from a database. This type of access and work load generated by such users is different from the traditional workloads seen in client–server systems of today.[citation needed]

Mobile databases are highly concentrated in the retail and logistics industries.[citation needed] They are increasingly[citation needed] being used in aviation and transportation industry.

Considerations

  • Mobile users must be able to work without a network connection due to poor or even non-existent connections. A cache could be maintained to hold recently accessed data and transactions so that they are not lost due to connection failure. Users might not require access to truly live data, only recently modified data, and uploading of changing might be deferred until reconnected.
  • Bandwidth must be conserved (a common requirement on wireless networks that charge per megabyte or data transferred).
  • Mobile computing devices tend to have slower CPUs and limited battery life.
  • Users with multiple devices (e.g. smartphone and tablet) may need to synchronize their devices to a centralized data store. This may require application-specific automation features.[2]
  • Users may change location geographically and on the network. Usually dealing with this is left to the operating system, which is responsible for maintaining the wireless network connection.

Products

Commercially available mobile databases include those shown on this comparison chart.

Name Developer Type Description
SQL Anywhere Sybase iAnywhere Relational Embedded/portable database, can synchronize with stationary database
DB2 Everyplace IBM Relational Portable, can synchronize with stationary database
IBM Mobile Database IBM Relational Portable/embedded small-footprint version of solidDB server
SQL Server Compact Microsoft Relational Small-footprint embedded/portable database for Microsoft Windows mobile devices and desktops, supports synchronization with Microsoft SQL Server
SQL Server Express Microsoft Relational Embedded database, free download
Oracle Database Lite Oracle Corporation Portable, can synchronize with stationary database
SQLite D. Richard Hipp C programming library Public domain
SQLBase Gupta Technologies LLC of Redwood Shores, California

SQL Anywhere has about 68% of the mobile database market.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. Organize your business with a mobile database, Kevin Ebi, Microsoft.com, retrieved 14/12/08
  2. The 5 Traits of Great Cloud-Syncing Apps

External links

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