- Category: Pergamon MU Pergamon MU
- Published: 09 October 2017 09 October 2017
All products in the Pergamon range support both conventional and encrypted SQLite (single workstation) and Postgres (multi-user and network installations) out of the box. We can support this because of a special 'multi-lingual' system that we have developed that not only allows us to display different human languages on screen, but also different database languages behind the scenes.
SQLite and PostgreSQL, both 100% free, allow Pergamon users to set up both single workstation and large networks of multi-user environments without any additional cost. Support for other databases often in use in education, such as MySQL, Oracle, MS SQLServer and other database systems are arriving later in 2017.
Want some techie stuff? See below.
What is SQLite?
SQLite is a fully complient RDBMS (Relational Database Management System) which supports all of the required features of a modern Relational database system, including ACID compliance and full standard SQL support. Unlike other RDBMS however, SQLite is mainly non-client-server1 meaning that standard installations are not really network (multi-user) compatible. The version that we ship also contains the option for very strong, military grade encryption to protect your reader data.
What this does mean however, is that SQLite is usually embedded within the application software and allows a very compact but fully RDBMS compliant database system to be shipped in an easy to install 'out-of-the-box' manner, allowing users of Pergamon to get their systems in place and usable within minutes of acquiring the software. You do not need to install any other software from either ourselves or a third-party to get your database up and running.
1 Though client-server versions do exist.
What is Postgre?
PostgreSQL is a large-scale RDBMS system akin to MySQL, Oracle and MS SQLServer. It has been in existence for many years and is a standard database installation on MacOS for internal operations and other flavours of the Linux and UNIX operating systems, but standard installation packages are available for all major operating systems including MS Windows. The biggest difference between PostgreSQL and others however, is that PostgreSQL is totally free of charge (it is shipped under a strong permissive free-software license - i.e. there are very few limitations on redistribution).
If you intend to install Pergamon in a multi-user environment, with terminals in different locations on your network and you do not already possess a database server on your network, Esferico ltd. recommend Postgre as the easiest, cheapest1 and most convenient to manage option.
1 As database systems such as MS SQLServer and Oracle are obviously commercial software, many organisations choose MySQL believing it to be an open-source, free to use option. This is however, not true. MySQL was a commercial development originally by MySQL SA and then taken on by Sun Microsystems and finally Oracle. While there is a MySQL 'community' edition available, it has a strict set of rules on who can use it free of charge. While most education uses allow the system to be utilised without payment, please check your own situation with the MySQL terms and conditions before committing to its installation.