| Hitachi aims "sophisticated" RDBMS at consumer devices |
Sep. 29, 2006
 Hitachi introduced a "sophisticated" relational database management system (RDBMS) aimed at embedded applications, this week at ESC in Boston. Entier weighs in at under a megabyte and offers a high degree of RDBMS functionality for resource-constrained devices like mobile phones, GPS gadgets, televisions, and set-top boxes, according to the company.
Hitachi describes Entier as "a powerful relational data manager extended with unique spatial, contextual, and incremental text search technologies." The small-footprint RDBMS provides consumer device manufacturers with an elegant, uniquely powerful way to provide end users easy access to their information, according to the company.
The Entier SDK (software development kit) currently can be hosted on Windows XP Pro and 2000 Pro workstations. Supported target platforms currently include Windows CE, Windows Mobile, Linux, VxWorks, Symbian, and T-Kernel.
Entier development/target architecture
(Click image to enlarge)
"While typical relational database management systems search only alphanumeric data, Entier offers two unique search technologies, Hitachi explains. "First, it provides the ability to efficiently search spatial data using an SQL query. This capability makes Entier suitable for delivering location-based services to an array of mobile devices, including navigation systems and location-aware smartphones. Second, Entier offers incremental text search, which progressively executes the search, narrowing down the results with each key stroke, and guiding the user with a list of possible next letters in the search term. This is useful for any application that involves searching for entries by name, such as numbers in a phone book or an address in a navigation system."
This week's release of Entier in the U.S. marks the English language debut of the embeddable RDBMS, which was introduced in Japan about one year ago, Hitachi said.
Takao Nakamura, executive general manager of Hitachi Ltd. Software Division, stated, "Hitachi has a long history of building database management systems for the enterprise. We built Entier so that we could apply that knowledge to the rapidly growing embedded device market. Entier is already being received well in Japan, and we expect that it will be welcomed by embedded developers in the United States."
Availability
Hitachi is offering a free, 30-day evaluation download of Entier. "The product is fully functional, so you can embed it into a system and see how it works," the company says.
Further details are available on Hitachi's website, here.
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