Re: [xml-dev] XML Database Decision Tree?

[Dan Weinreb <dlw@exceloncorp.com>]

   Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2001 02:01:26 -0700
   From: Ronald Bourret <rpbourret@rpbourret.com>

   They then get this faraway look in their eyes and hint that, should
   their database outperform an RDBMS on certain transactional data, and
   should people decide to use their native XML database as the database of
   record, well, then, they're not about to dissuade them. Witness, for
   example, Mike Champion's comments about bill-of-material data.

Ah, yes, the faraway look in their eyes.  I know what you're talking
about, and it's a sad thing when it strikes its victims.

I am one of the co-founders of Object Design (now eXcelon Corp.) and
one of the technical architects of ObjectStore.  As far as this
mailing list goes, by necessity I am speaking for myself.  I am not
speaking as any kind of official "editorial voice" of the company,
much less as a representative or apologist for everything that various
people in the company have said over the course of the last 13 years.

However, I can say that the faraway look is officially out.  The
person who is now head of product management for ObjectStore says that
the corporate position to any prospective customer is: if an RDBMS
solves your problem properly and adequately, then we aren't going to
try to sell you ObjectStore for that problem.  I would add that the
same applies to XIS (the XML DBMS product).  (Whether every sales rep
is wise enough to heed this principle is something I can't answer for,
but I think thing have improved a lot along those lines.)

I agree with everything else you said.

-- Dan