The international global H-mode confinement database: storage and distribution

The international global H-mode confinement database is now available in a commercially based relational database environment. Everyone with access to the Internet can query the public database with a Web browser. The open data base connectivity properties of the new environment makes it possible to exchange data without any manual data transformations. Previously, the database was only available in a simple text file format and all exchanges of data were done via file transfers using this file format. The technical details of both the old and new set-up are described in the paper since the old one is still in use.