Pervasive Software Upgrades Btrieve Database

The upgrade brings key improvements in performance and reduced total cost of ownership via a new network analysis tool that detects system and network issues before they become a problem, said Gary Allison, vice president of engineering at Pervasive, based here.

"Performance is increased whether people access [the database through the transactional interface or SQL," Allison said.

Solution providers lauded the update. "The biggest thing for users will be the performance benefits," said Bill Bach, president of Goldstar Software, a Flossmoor, Ill.-based Pervasive partner. "On the SQL layer, they've rewritten some SQL optimizers, and it runs a lot faster."

Pervasive SQL has its roots in the time-honored Btrieve database, which was once owned by Novell but was spun out into a separate company in 1994.

"Eighty percent of the applications out there today are based on lower-level Btrieve transactional layer," Bach said. "We tested apps there and, in one case, found a dialogue that was running a couple thousand Btrieve requests four times faster [and another dialogue performing only 400 to 500 requests running only 20 percent faster. So the improvements vary."

The Pervasive SQL database has a strong presence in the midmarket, particularly in accounting applications, and Pervasive Software's ISV partners in that space include ACCPAC International and Best Software. Pervasive Software is fending off encroachments from Microsoft's SQL Server in the midmarket but continues to work with Great Plains, now part of Microsoft, to ensure that Great Plains Dynamics accounting applications work "flawlessly" with the database, Allison said.

Pervasive also has written a new OLE DB provider so the product will fit into Microsoft's .Net framework. "Even in the SMB market, we're seeing some early .Net adopters," Allison said. "But even those not adopting .Net want to know that it's an option available to them."

Pervasive SQL Version 8 Desktop Workgroup engines cost $25, and the full client/server engines start at $845 for six users, the company said. The database runs on Windows, Netware and Linux and supports older versions of Btrieve.