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Microsoft Porting SQL Server To New Platforms

Posted by Zonk on from the mssql-on-the-road dept.

FuzzyGuru writes "Hot on the heels of the 'Most Important Ever' MySQL reaching Beta status, Microsoft is finally taking the Linux plunge. Microsoft has decided to release a version of MSSQL2005 for Linux, Unix and XBox." From the article: "We thought it was important to address the Linux/Unix marketplace, providing a key database for their use on that platform as applications are developed and deployed...In addition, with the Xbox development opportunities, it's clear that SQL Server is the database platform that can now be used in the full customer lifecycle - from business-related applications support to consumer and gaming applications, the full line of SQL Server offerings will be available to support those needs."

11 of 174 comments (clear)

  1. Damn April Fools jokes. Not Funny. by AKAImBatman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's too bad this is a (rather stupid) April Fools joke. There's actually a lot of sense in porting SQL Server to other platforms. For one, SQL Server could take advantage of larger machines with more memory, I/O, and multiprocessing capability. At the same time, the portable engine could be linked into far more products, including XBOx games which need an embedded database for storage. (Hell, does anyone remember when BTrieve, now PervasiveSQL, used to be part of Netware's networking and routing stack?) As it is, they're giving Sybase a small amount of reason to live. If you check Sybase's marketing, you'll find that 90% of it is geared toward "convert your SQL Server database to Unix/Linux!"

    The truth of the matter is that Microsoft could be doing a lot more business if they'd stop insisting that their OS be used at all times, period. Look at their Office X product line, for example. As I understand it, Microsoft is generating excellent revenue from its existence. While Office might not make as much sense on other OSes, Microsoft could probably sell SQL Server for Unix, IIS for Unix, and Active Directory for Unix. At the very least it would keep people from sticking SAMBA servers all over the place.

    BTW, did anyone notice that Microsoft's "cross-platform" versions of IE disappeared shortly after the Feds found them to be a monopoly? Almost seems like the products existed only for the purpose of making it *look* like Microsoft was playing nice. Once it was proven that they weren't, they stopped trying to keep the image up. Not that I know of anyone who actually *used* IE for Solaris...

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    1. Re:Damn April Fools jokes. Not Funny. by Lysol · · Score: 2, Insightful

      God I HATE /. on Apr. 1. Argh!

    2. Re:Damn April Fools jokes. Not Funny. by AKAImBatman · · Score: 2, Insightful

      IE for Unix was horrid anyway, but it demonstrate that there was absolutely no technical barrier to porting code to that platform. In fact I reckon it would take considerably less work to port Office to Linux (using WINE) that it woulde to port it to OS X.

      It certainly wouldn't surprise me. Remember when Win95 first came out? Win32 was offerred as an upgrade to Win3.1. Once you had the Win32 library installed, you could run many of the programs supposedly designed only for Win95. Interesting how a completely incompatible OS could be updated with a single DLL, isn't it? It sort of proved to the world that the Win32 API and the underlying kernel were actually two separate entities. (As they should be.)

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      Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
  2. not funny by sfcat · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The funniest April fools jokes are almost believeable. That's why this isn't funny.

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    "Those that start by burning books, will end by burning men."
  3. Do the editors really think this is funny? by haluness · · Score: 3, Insightful

    OK, we've all understood its April 1st. We got the joke. Sheesh.

  4. You know what the best April 1st joke would be? by Weaselmancer · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If something really newsworthy did happen today. Something excellent and a little bit improbable. Maybe SCO calls it quits, or MS finally publishes their court-ordered complete API documentation.

    It would be lost in all this fluff. The joke would be on us.

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    Weaselmancer
    rediculous.
  5. April Fools Joke. Notice To All Slashdotters by TheFlyingGoat · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's quite simple really... if you don't like the April 1st stuff, come back tomorrow. Granted, most of the stories this year weren't funny at all, but the 1 or 2 clever ones were still filled with posts of "enough already".

    If you don't like the stories, ignore them and return tomorrow when it's back to normal. Or will you go into withdrawal if you can't read Slashdot for a day?

    My $0.02... I have karma to burn.

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    You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life. --Winston Churchill
  6. -1 Not Funny by elBart0 · · Score: 1, Insightful

    April fools jokes are only funny if they come from something that looks like an original source. Now, if the same article was posted on MSDN, now that would be funny.

    (Yes, I know sswug is, but it just doesn't carry the same punch.)

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  7. APRIL FOOLS!!!! by mattmentecky · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I think the meta April Fool's joke is the slashdot editors posting as many fake news stories as they can and watching slashdotters getting *so* pissed and complaining on every post.

  8. Implausible != Funny by CosmeticLobotamy · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Unlike a bunch of people here, I enjoy the April 1st stuff, but to the Slashdot editors: April Fools Day jokes are only funny if they're funny.

  9. stupid april fools jokes are not funny by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    One is funny - maybe. But a page full of stupid jokes is just stupid.