I felt that frank’s comments were around the philosophical issue of relational databases in general. Our relational model is actually very scalable and we work very closely with our hosting provider to add infrastructure when we need to.

I will also say that our core database platform has been running since 2003 with an estimated 10 million user-hours logged into it in the form of our parent company Relationals. We know the platform is solid.

Thanks!

//exact match against runtime-supplied parameter
user.name = ${name}

or you can do:

//ends-with runtime-supplied parameter
user.name LIKE ‘%’ || ${name}

or you can do

//starts with runtime-supplied parameter
user.name LIKE ${name}|| ‘%’

or you can do

//contains runtime-supplied parameter
user.name LIKE ‘%’ || ${name} || ‘%’

NextQuery has a good mix of expressiveness, security, and simplicity. With NextDB.net we are trying to give you many of the features of a relational database combined with a “built for the web” experience.

I just want to address the comments made by “frank.” Obviously, relational data models are not the end-all for databases. The comparison to SimpleDB is primarily around the ready-provisioned, hosted DaaS infrastructure that the world is gravitating towards. Of course, there are times when the application you are building will need a flat database, a data warehouse, or a relational database. Each has their purpose.

What we find is that the majority of business applications have a relational model where data is organized into objects that have schemas that emulate the attributes of the real world. Even when they are tracking their business in a spreadsheet, these business teams’ needs grow to eventually become more and more relational in nature based on all the different business processes that involve that data. That’s because the idea is not to have an infinite list of data, but to actually get to the data you need to do your job in a structured, predictable fashion. Relational data allows you to reduce replication of information, enable records to have traceability and ownership, and enables you to logically connect objects together and form even deeper relationships between the data. (Anyone who’s ever played an MMORPG can see the object-oriented benefits of a relational model). Lastly, relational databases allow independent records to be “the center of their universe” with a 360-degree view across all their related data, and that is a big deal for many business functions.

As to the pricing of our service, are you saying that we are undercharging? If that’s the case, everyone should sign up today because it must be a bargain.

And lastly, regarding the logo… yes (secret’s out) it is a hurdler, but if you’ve ever seen how awkward a longjumper looks in profile you would think longjumping is very difficult (which it is). But our LongJump logo is partly a metaphor for us. We enable you to make long jumps in an easier, less awkward fashion.

Derek Cheng
Marketing Director
LongJump

Then there is the pricing; it is difficult to put a price tag on this kind of thing and considering the pricing for longjump here I would say they are either denying large setups or they are insane; I would require from such a service that they can show some sustainable business model which I really don’t see here. $20 / month is nice for very small apps (the kind you make with the Longjump dev system) but after that they are losing money. SimpleDB has a sustainable model.

And agree with the logo; it looks like someone taking hurdles

Picking on a very specific aspect of the query language that annoyed me about SimpleDB – the most flexible string predicate it offers is ’starts-with’, whereas LongJump offers ‘contains’.

For me, it’s that sort of thing that makes the difference between a service that’s useable and one that just doesn’t cut it.

If it does intend to compete with Amazon, what will be its differentiator? is it lower costs? simpler interface? more reliable service?

It has to come up with an attractive offering, because Amazon is now dubbed as a de-facto standard for the new generation of bootstrapping developers.

My post about it http://technozzle.com/?p=27