Amazon has introduced a simple database, Google's app engine includes a simplified database. Microsoft is beta testing SQL Server Data Services, which despite the name "SQL Server" is anything but. It's got a new Linq-based query system.
Haven't these guys ever heard of a little something called SQL, which is a standard? It feels more like Google wants to lock you in with their Google-specific data API, and ditto for Amazon's DB and Microsoft's new baby.
This reminds me of the browser wars all over again. Different players, same slug-fest. Nobody is taking the interests of the developer who wants portability to heart. I want to deploy an application and I want to be able to use either Google, Microsoft, or Amazon because my application is written to some standards. These parties are behaving as if that is exactly what they don't want you to be able to do.
At least on the Amazon cloud I can run whatever Linux system instance I want, so I can run a database of my choosing. Google provides no such flexibility (yet).
All this database innovation would be fine if it really delivered value, but I really fail to see the advantages of these new systems over say, a SQL subset, which could be simplified substantially from the broader SQL standard. Not for a real system anyway.
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