Oracle/Java on Windows Azure and More Data Dev Tidbits -- Visual Studio Magazine

Data Driverby David Ramel

Oracle/Java on Windows Azure and More Data Dev Tidbits

Data development news this week includes the availability of Oracle software and Java on Windows Azure, a service to quickly turn SQL Server stored procedures into RESTful APIs and a database-comparison tool's early support for SQL Server 2014.

First announced in a preview last June by Satya Nadella (who's been in the news himself a bit recently), the Windows Azure/Oracle collaboration was made official with a general availability announcement yesterday. Java developers can now work with Oracle's database and WebLogic Server on licensed virtual machine (VM) images.

"We'll also work together to add properly licensed, and fully supported Java into Windows Azure -- improving flexibility and choice for millions of Java developers and their applications," Nadella said last June. "Windows Azure is, and will continue to be, committed to supporting open source development languages and frameworks, and after today's news, I hope the strength of our commitment in this area is clear."

Well, one thing that's clear is that Nadella now has much more gravitas to see that commitment through.

As Jeffrey Schwartz reported yesterday on VirtualizationReview.com, Java support on Windows Azure was previously available through the open source OpenJDK. "For those who wanted to use Oracle's Java license, the partnership offers a fully licensed and supported Java on Windows Azure," Schwartz explained.

In other news this week, Espresso Logic Inc. announced developers can now quickly create RESTful APIs for stored procedures with its cloud-based platform, a "reactive service for SQL data." Espresso 1.2 supports SQL Server version 2005 and later, along with Windows Azure SQL Database, Oracle and MySQL.

"Using the new functionality, developers can quickly create mobile applications that leverage a company’s investment in stored procedures," the company said. "The Espresso Designer exposes stored procedures as REST/JSON resources while the supporting infrastructure is handled by the Espresso service."

The announcement is among many that have recently highlighted the growing importance of RESTful APIs in mobile app development.

Meanwhile, just today, xSQL Software announced it was getting an early jump on SQL Server 2014 support by its SQL Server schema compare tool.

Enhancements to version 5 of the xSQL Schema Compare and Data Compare tools include "all new and improved SQL Server 2014 objects such as memory-optimized filegroups, memory-optimized tables, hash and range indexes, columnstore indexes, memory-optimized table types, natively compiled stored procedures, primary and secondary selective XML indexes, XML index and namespace paths," the company said.

SQL Server 2014, of course, is coming soon.

What do you find new and exciting in the world of SQL Server development? Weigh in here or drop me a line.

Posted by David Ramel on 03/14/2014

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