Built on the open source PostgreSQL database, EnterpriseDB 2005 is an enterprise database product, which the EnterpriseDB Corporation says is similar in functionality and scope to products from Oracle - but is available for a fraction of the cost. Using SQL syntax and data types compatible with Oracle, the open source RDBMS system includes a core engine, EDB Studio, a graphical console for developers and DBAs, and EDB Connectors, which provide access to EDB from a variety of programming languages and APIs including Java's JDBC, PHP, Perl and Python.
"Until today, enterprises were forced to choose between over-priced solutions from enterprise software vendors and under-powered solutions from open source vendors," said Andy Astor, Chief Executive Officer of EnterpriseDB. "Our enhancements to PostgreSQL have resulted in a truly enterprise-class product, priced to reflect its open source heritage. To be 'enterprise-class,' a database must be reliable, compatible, and scalable. In other words, it must rigorously ensure data integrity, support standard practices familiar to enterprise developers, and run fast when executing update-intensive, transactional applications. Uniquely so at its price, EDB2005 meets all of these criteria."
The EDB public beta period begins immediately, with general availability of the software slated to come this summer.