DataJoiner: a practical approach to multi-database access

Summary form only given. As a result of the trend towards client/server and open systems over the last decade, businesses are finding that they have useful data distributed across multiple DBMSs. DataJoiner is a new database middleware product that provides client applications with a unified view of this diverse data. It will enable and simplify the development of complex decision support applications. DataJoiner, in its first release, will provide client applications with transparent SQL access to heterogeneous, distributed data. DataJoiner also enables data migration from one DBMS to another. It simplifies customer application environments because they no longer have to generate and maintain several versions of similar applications, one for every DBMS in the enterprise. Finally, DataJoiner gives a workstation look and feel to host data. The paper describes the basic architecture of DataJoiner. It touches upon the approach that DataJoiner used to solve some key technical challenges, practical considerations of developing such a technology and the limitations that will need to be overcome in order to gain widespread acceptability. The paper addresses what lies in the future for relational database middleware technologies