Adabas
Encyclopedia
ADABAS is Software AG
’s primary database management system
.
products. Initially released on IBM mainframe
systems using DOS/360
, OS/MFT or OS/MVT, ADABAS is now available on a range of other systems including OpenVMS
, Unix
(including Linux
and Linux on zSeries) and Microsoft Windows
servers.
ADABAS has maintained its position as one of the world's fastest OLTP
databases, offering 24x7 functioning, Parallel Sysplex support, real-time replication capability, SQL
and XML
access and other leading edge capabilities. Historically, ADABAS was used in conjunction with Software AG's programming language NATURAL
, so that many legacy applications that use ADABAS as a database on the back-end are also developed with NATURAL as well.
ADABAS has proven to be very successful in providing efficient access to data and maintaining the integrity of the database. ADABAS is now widely used in applications that require very high volumes of data processing
or in high transaction online analytical processing
environments.
Software AG
Founded in 1969, Software AG is an enterprise software company with over 10,000 enterprise customers in over 70 countries. The company is the second largest software vendor in Germany, the fourth in Europe and among the top 25 globally...
’s primary database management system
Database management system
A database management system is a software package with computer programs that control the creation, maintenance, and use of a database. It allows organizations to conveniently develop databases for various applications by database administrators and other specialists. A database is an integrated...
.
History
First released in 1970, ADABAS is considered by some to have been one of the earliest commercially available databaseDatabase
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
products. Initially released on IBM mainframe
IBM mainframe
IBM mainframes are large computer systems produced by IBM from 1952 to the present. During the 1960s and 1970s, the term mainframe computer was almost synonymous with IBM products due to their marketshare...
systems using DOS/360
DOS/360
Disk Operating System/360, also DOS/360, or simply DOS, was an operating system for IBM mainframes. It was announced by IBM on the last day of 1964, and it was first delivered in June 1966....
, OS/MFT or OS/MVT, ADABAS is now available on a range of other systems including OpenVMS
OpenVMS
OpenVMS , previously known as VAX-11/VMS, VAX/VMS or VMS, is a computer server operating system that runs on VAX, Alpha and Itanium-based families of computers. Contrary to what its name suggests, OpenVMS is not open source software; however, the source listings are available for purchase...
, Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
(including Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and Linux on zSeries) and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
servers.
ADABAS has maintained its position as one of the world's fastest OLTP
Online transaction processing
Online transaction processing, or OLTP, refers to a class of systems that facilitate and manage transaction-oriented applications, typically for data entry and retrieval transaction processing...
databases, offering 24x7 functioning, Parallel Sysplex support, real-time replication capability, SQL
SQL
SQL is a programming language designed for managing data in relational database management systems ....
and XML
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
access and other leading edge capabilities. Historically, ADABAS was used in conjunction with Software AG's programming language NATURAL
NATURAL
NATURAL is a fourth-generation programming language from Software AG. It is largely used for building databases output in plain text form, for example. * Hello World in NATURAL WRITE 'Hello World!' END...
, so that many legacy applications that use ADABAS as a database on the back-end are also developed with NATURAL as well.
Technical information
ADABAS is an inverted list database. It has been described as "Post-relational" but "Relational Like" in its characteristics. Some differences:- Files, not Tables as the major organizational unit
- Records, not Rows as content unit within the organizational unit
- Fields, not Columns as components of a content unit
- No embedded SQLSQLSQL is a programming language designed for managing data in relational database management systems ....
engine. SQL or another external query mechanism must be provided. An SQL engine called ADASQL is available: it supports most of the SQL statements and can be used to access ADABAS using COBOLCOBOLCOBOL is one of the oldest programming languages. Its name is an acronym for COmmon Business-Oriented Language, defining its primary domain in business, finance, and administrative systems for companies and governments....
and PL/IPL/IPL/I is a procedural, imperative computer programming language designed for scientific, engineering, business and systems programming applications...
programs. - Search facilities may use indexed fieldsIndex (database)A database index is a data structure that improves the speed of data retrieval operations on a database table at the cost of slower writes and increased storage space...
or non indexed fields or both. - Does not natively enforce referential integrityReferential integrityReferential integrity is a property of data which, when satisfied, requires every value of one attribute of a relation to exist as a value of another attribute in a different relation ....
constraints, i.e. parent-child relations must be maintained by application code. - Supports two methods of denormalizationDenormalizationIn computing, denormalization is the process of attempting to optimise the read performance of a database by adding redundant data or by grouping data. In some cases, denormalisation helps cover up the inefficiencies inherent in relational database software...
: repeating groups in a record ("periodic groups"); and multiple value fields in a record ("multi-value fields").
ADABAS has proven to be very successful in providing efficient access to data and maintaining the integrity of the database. ADABAS is now widely used in applications that require very high volumes of data processing
Data processing
Computer data processing is any process that a computer program does to enter data and summarise, analyse or otherwise convert data into usable information. The process may be automated and run on a computer. It involves recording, analysing, sorting, summarising, calculating, disseminating and...
or in high transaction online analytical processing
OLAP
In computing, online analytical processing, or OLAP , is an approach to swiftly answer multi-dimensional analytical queries. OLAP is part of the broader category of business intelligence, which also encompasses relational reporting and data mining...
environments.