Now that I have PBXT running under both Mac OS X (Power PC) and Linux, I have posted the source code. Here is the download URL:
http://www.primebase.com/xt/download/mysql-4.1.16-pbxt-0.9.1.tar.gz
As the name suggests, the engine has been integrated into MySQL 4.1.16 (the nightly build of November 4, 2005). I have labeled this version Alpha since it is almost feature complete, but please check my to-do list before you build and run it:
http://www.primebase.com/xt/download/pbxt-to-do.txt
Here are some brief instructions for building MySQL with PBXT:
http://www.primebase.com/xt/download/how-to-build.txt
You can send any questions, suggestions or bug reports to me directly: paul.mccullagh(a)primebase.com.
My initial tests show that the performance of PBXT under Linux/Intel is very promising, to put it modestly. More about this later.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Concerning: PBXT, MySQL and Mountains
Is PrimeBase XT (PBXT) just another transactional engine for MySQL? I think (hope) not! But, even if it was, it would still be justified considering the current lack of an independent (i.e. not owned by a monopolist) transactional engine. But I started developing PBXT at the beginning of last year for a much more basic reason, after all I had no idea what Oracle was about to do.
I started programming PBXT simply because it was there!
But wait, you say, "we climb mountains because they are there, we don't program software because it is there", because it isn't (before we start). Well I think many programmers can relate to that statement anyway. Programming is much like climbing a mountain. You start out with great enthusiasm, wanting to do things better and quicker than before. But as you get higher, the air gets thinner. You struggle on and as you approach the top it gets tougher and tougher (we all know how long it takes to finish that last 10%)!
But when you reach the peak, the summit, there is nothing like it! You have conquered the beast of chaos and doubt, the air is fresh and you can see for miles. Inspiring, isn't it? Well I think so.
OK, so programming is like climbing a mountain, but how can you climb a mountain that isn't there? Well, it is there, actually, isn't it? Right there, in your head.
And so it was with PBXT. After quite a few years of programming databases I had some ideas (questions actually), for example: what would it be like if the database wrote only sequentially? Must a database always write twice? Can we eliminate read locks? Is it possible to commit or rollback without doing any work? Is it possible to startup without recovery?
Using some known techniques and combining them with a few new ideas, I have found some answers to these questions. You can read about it in my White Paper at http://www.primebase.com/xt.
So have I reached the top? Of course not, nobody ever reaches the top! Seriously though, I have a few things on my to-do list, but mostly PBXT is untested. So I am thankful that testing is the first area in which I have been offered help (thanks Ronald) and also from MySQL themselves (thanks Brian). Any more help would be welcome and we'll turn this into an expedition.
I plan to keep the address above posted with the latest information, versions, etc. and we'll just take it from there, one step at a time...
I started programming PBXT simply because it was there!
But wait, you say, "we climb mountains because they are there, we don't program software because it is there", because it isn't (before we start). Well I think many programmers can relate to that statement anyway. Programming is much like climbing a mountain. You start out with great enthusiasm, wanting to do things better and quicker than before. But as you get higher, the air gets thinner. You struggle on and as you approach the top it gets tougher and tougher (we all know how long it takes to finish that last 10%)!
But when you reach the peak, the summit, there is nothing like it! You have conquered the beast of chaos and doubt, the air is fresh and you can see for miles. Inspiring, isn't it? Well I think so.
OK, so programming is like climbing a mountain, but how can you climb a mountain that isn't there? Well, it is there, actually, isn't it? Right there, in your head.
And so it was with PBXT. After quite a few years of programming databases I had some ideas (questions actually), for example: what would it be like if the database wrote only sequentially? Must a database always write twice? Can we eliminate read locks? Is it possible to commit or rollback without doing any work? Is it possible to startup without recovery?
Using some known techniques and combining them with a few new ideas, I have found some answers to these questions. You can read about it in my White Paper at http://www.primebase.com/xt.
So have I reached the top? Of course not, nobody ever reaches the top! Seriously though, I have a few things on my to-do list, but mostly PBXT is untested. So I am thankful that testing is the first area in which I have been offered help (thanks Ronald) and also from MySQL themselves (thanks Brian). Any more help would be welcome and we'll turn this into an expedition.
I plan to keep the address above posted with the latest information, versions, etc. and we'll just take it from there, one step at a time...
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