Web site development specialists choose Caché

Key Benefits

• Web
• High Performance
• State-aware processing

The irony of the World Wide Web is that the piece of software that has enabled its tremendous rise in popularity-the browser-really doesn't do very much. The workhorse on the Web, particularly with dynamic, data-driven applications, is, in fact, the database. "The immaturity of the browser platform is just one of the technical challenges we face," said F Harvell, president of FTS International Data Systems (www.fts.net), a software development firm that specializes in the development of Web applications. "Web browsers are relatively new. Client-side applications running on a browser are unreliable, so we do all of our application development on the server side, which puts enormous demands on the database."

This observation-that Web applications put extraordinary demands on the database-illustrates just one of the many ways that Web developers have to adjust their thinking when they begin developing Web applications. While many developers begin building applications by choosing a development tool then taking whatever database comes with the tool, they really should consider choosing the database first.

When Harvell searched for the "best of breed" database on which to build his business, he chose Caché, the e-DBMS optimized for the tougher demands of the Web.

When Harvell searched for the "best of breed" database on which to build his business, he chose Caché, the e-DBMS optimized for the tougher demands of the Web. "I looked at a lot of technology to invest in, and "invest" is what we call it. We expect a financial return from our investment. We were looking at object-oriented databases to build the next generation of Web site. Caché gives us everything we needed." FTS International primarily codes using PHP, a scripting language similar to Caché Server Pages. Pearl, C, and Java are also used.

Harvell initially reviewed Objectivity, O2, and ObjectStore as well as Caché. "Objectivity and ObjectStore are interested only in large sites," said Harvell. "They price themselves right out of business. One of the most attractive features we found with Caché was its ability to scale from the low end to the very largest Web sites. Caché lets us move our applications across the breadth of our customer base."

Another challenge the Web imposes on databases is the requirement for state-aware processing, which Caché handles easily. "The Web is stateless, and so every time someone makes a request on the Web site, that data has to come from the database," explained Harvell. "If the database is slow, that will affect the entire Web site. Caché provides state management through special low-level coding that preserves the connection between the client and the back end."

Harvell sees his business in relatively simple terms. "We take information from our customers and deliver that information via Web sites. To that end, performance and scalability are paramount. And Caché more than meets our need."