Comparison of relational database management systems

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The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of relational database management systems. Please see the individual products' articles for further information. Unless otherwise specified in footnotes, comparisons are based on the stable versions without any add-ons, extensions or external programs.

General information[edit]

Maintainer First public release date Latest stable version Latest release date License Public issues list
4D (4th Dimension) 4D S.A.S. 1984 v16.0 2017-01-10[1] Proprietary No
ADABAS Software AG 1970 8.1 2013-06 Proprietary No
Adaptive Server Enterprise SAP AG 1987 16.0 SP03 PL07 2019-06-10 Proprietary No
Advantage Database Server (ADS) SAP AG 1992 12.0 2015 Proprietary No
Altibase Altibase Corp. 2000 7.1.0.1.2 2018-03-02 Proprietary No
Apache Derby Apache 2004 10.17.1.0[2] 2023-11-14 Apache License Yes[3]
ClustrixDB MariaDB Corporation 2010 v7.0 2015-08-19 Proprietary No
CockroachDB Cockroach Labs 2015 v20.2.8 2021-04-23 BSL,CCL,MIT,BSD Yes[4]
CUBRID CUBRID 2008-11 11.2.3 2023-01-31 Apache License 2.0, BSD license for APIs and GUI tools Yes[5]
Datacom CA, Inc. Early 70s[6] 14[7] 2012[8] Proprietary No
IBM Db2 IBM 1983 11.5.9[9] Edit this on Wikidata 2023-11-15; 5 months ago Proprietary No
Empress Embedded Database Empress Software Inc 1979 10.20 2010-03 Proprietary No
Exasol EXASOL AG 2004 7.1.1 2021-09-15; 2 years ago Proprietary No
FileMaker FileMaker, Inc., an Apple subsidiary 1985-04 19 2020-05-20 Proprietary No
Firebird Firebird project 2000-07-25 5.0.0[10] Edit this on Wikidata 2024-01-11; 3 months ago IPL[11] and IDPL[12] Yes[13]
GPUdb GIS Federal 2014 3.2.5 2015-01-14 Proprietary No
HSQLDB HSQL Development Group 2001 2.6.1 2021-10-21 BSD Yes[14]
H2 H2 Software 2005 2.1.214 2022-06-13 EPL and modified MPL Yes[15]
Informix Dynamic Server IBM / HCL Technologies 1981????1980 14.10.xC9 2022-10-03 Proprietary No
Ingres Actian 1974 11.2[16] 2022-05-06 GPL and Proprietary No
InterBase Embarcadero 1984 XE7 v12.0.4.357 2015-08-12 Proprietary No
Linter SQL RDBMS RELEX Group 1990 6.0.17.53 2018-02-15 Proprietary Yes[17]
LucidDB The Eigenbase Project 2007-01 0.9.4 2012-01-05 GPL v2 No
MariaDB MariaDB Community 2010-02-01 11.3.2[18] Edit this on Wikidata 2024-02-16; 2 months ago GPL v2, LGPL (for client-libraries)[19] Yes[20]
MaxDB SAP AG 2003-05 7.9.0.8 2014 Proprietary Yes[21]
SingleStore (formerly MemSQL) SingleStore 2012-06 7.1.11 2020-10-12 Proprietary No
Microsoft Access (JET) Microsoft 1992 16 (2016) 2015-09-22 Proprietary No
Microsoft Visual Foxpro Microsoft 1984 9 (2005) 2007-10-11 Proprietary No
Microsoft SQL Server Microsoft 1989 2022[22] Edit this on Wikidata 2022-11-16; 17 months ago Proprietary No
Microsoft SQL Server Compact (Embedded Database) Microsoft 2000 2011 (v4.0) Proprietary No
Mimer SQL Mimer Information Technology 1978 11.0.8B 2023-12-27 Proprietary No
MonetDB MonetDB Solutions [23] 2004 Dec2023 [24] 2023-12-28 Mozilla Public License, version 2.0[25] Yes[26]
mSQL Hughes Technologies 1994 4.1[27] 2017-06-30 Proprietary No
MySQL Oracle Corporation 1995-11 8.3.0[28] Edit this on Wikidata 2024-01-16; 3 months ago GPL v2 or Proprietary Yes[29]
NexusDB NexusDB Pty Ltd 2003 4.00.14 2015-06-25 Proprietary No
HPE NonStop SQL Hewlett Packard Enterprise 1987 SQL/MX 3.4 Proprietary No
NuoDB NuoDB 2013 4.1 2020-08 Proprietary No
Omnis Studio TigerLogic Inc 1982-07 6.1.3 Release 1no 2015-12 Proprietary No
OpenEdge Progress Software Corporation 1984 12.8 2024-1 Proprietary No
OpenLink Virtuoso OpenLink Software 1998 7.2.5.1 2018-08-15 GPL v2 or Proprietary Yes[30]
Oracle DB Oracle Corporation 1979-11 23c[31] Edit this on Wikidata 2023-09-19; 7 months ago Proprietary No
Oracle Rdb Oracle Corporation 1984 7.4.1.1[32] 2021-04-21[±] Proprietary No
Paradox Corel Corporation 1985 11 2009-09-07 Proprietary No
Percona Server for MySQL Percona 2006 8.0.36-28 2024-04-04[±] GPL v2 Yes
Actian Zen (PSQL) Actian 1982 v15 2021 Proprietary No
Polyhedra DBMS ENEA AB 1993 9.0 2015-06-24 Proprietary, with Polyhedra Lite available as Freeware[33] No
PostgreSQL PostgreSQL Global Development Group 1989-06 16.1 2023-11-09[34] Postgres License[35] No[36]
R:Base R:BASE Technologies 1982 10.0 2016-05-26 Proprietary No
SAP HANA SAP AG 2010 2.0 SPS04 2019-08-08 Proprietary No
solidDB UNICOM Global 1992 7.0.0.10 2014-04-29 Proprietary No
SQL Anywhere SAP AG 1992 17.0.0.48 2019-07-26 Proprietary No
SQLBase Unify Corp. 1982 11.5 2008-11 Proprietary No
SQLite D. Richard Hipp 2000-09-12 3.45.3[37] Edit this on Wikidata 2024-04-15; 8 days ago Public domain Yes[38]
SQream DB SQream Technologies 2014 2.1[39] 2018-01-15 Proprietary No
Superbase Superbase 1984 Classic 2003 Proprietary No
Superbase NG Superbase NG 2002 Superbase NG 2.10 2017 Proprietary Yes[40]
Teradata Teradata 1984 15 2014-04 Proprietary No
TiDB PingCAP Inc. 2016 7.6.0[41] Edit this on Wikidata 2024-01-25; 2 months ago Apache License Yes[42]
UniData Rocket Software 1988 8.2.1 2017-07 Proprietary No
YugabyteDB Yugabyte, Inc. 2018 2.20.1.3[43] 2024-01-25[±] Apache License Yes[44]
Maintainer First public release date Latest stable version Latest release date License Public issues list

Operating system support[edit]

The operating systems that the RDBMSes can run on.

Windows macOS Linux BSD UNIX AmigaOS z/OS OpenVMS iOS Android
4th Dimension Yes Yes No No No No No No No No
ADABAS Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No No No
Adaptive Server Enterprise Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Advantage Database Server Yes No Yes No No No No No No No
Altibase Yes No Yes No Yes No No No No No
Apache Derby Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No ? No
ClustrixDB No No Yes No Yes No No No No No
CockroachDB Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No
CUBRID Yes Partial Yes No No No No No No No
IBM Db2 Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No
Empress Embedded Database Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No Yes
EXASolution No No Yes No No No No No No No
FileMaker Yes Yes Yes No No No No No Yes No
Firebird Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Maybe No Yes[45] No
HSQLDB Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No ? ?
H2 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No ? Yes
Informix Dynamic Server Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Ingres Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Partial Yes[46] No No
InterBase Yes Yes Yes No Yes (Solaris) No No No Yes Yes
Linter SQL RDBMS Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Under Linux on IBM Z Yes Yes Yes
LucidDB Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No
MariaDB Yes Yes[47] Yes Yes Yes No No No ? Yes[48]
MaxDB Yes No Yes No Yes No Maybe No No No
Microsoft Access (JET) Yes No No No No No No No No No
Microsoft Visual Foxpro Yes No No No No No No No No No
Microsoft SQL Server Yes No Yes[49] No No No No No No No
Microsoft SQL Server Compact (Embedded Database) Yes No No No No No No No No No
Mimer SQL Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes[50] No Yes
MonetDB Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
MySQL Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No ? Yes[51]
Omnis Studio Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No
OpenEdge Yes No Yes No Yes No No No No No
OpenLink Virtuoso Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Oracle Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No No
Oracle Rdb No No No No No No No Yes No No
Actian Zen (PSQL) Yes Yes (OEM only) Yes No No No No No Yes Yes
Polyhedra Yes No Yes No Yes No No No No No
PostgreSQL Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes (MorphOS)[52] Under Linux on IBM Z[53] No No Yes
R:Base Yes No No No No No No No No No
SAP HANA Yes No Yes No No No No No No No
solidDB Yes No Yes No Yes No Under Linux on IBM Z No No No
SQL Anywhere Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No No Yes
SQLBase Yes No Yes No No No No No No No
SQLite Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Maybe No Yes Yes
SQream DB No No Yes No No No No No No No
Superbase Yes No No No No Yes No No No No
Superbase NG Yes No Yes No No No No No No No
Teradata Yes No Yes No Yes No No No No No
TiDB Yes Yes Yes Partial No No No No No No
UniData Yes No Yes No Yes No No No No No
UniVerse Yes No Yes No Yes No No No No No
YugabyteDB Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No
Windows macOS Linux BSD UNIX AmigaOS z/OS OpenVMS iOS Android

Fundamental features[edit]

Information about what fundamental RDBMS features are implemented natively.

Database Name ACID Referential integrity Transactions Fine-grained locking Multiversion concurrency control Unicode Interface Type inference
4th Dimension Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes GUI & SQL Yes
ADABAS Yes No Yes ? ? Yes proprietary direct call & SQL (via 3rd party) Yes
Adaptive Server Enterprise Yes Yes Yes Yes (Row-level locking) Yes Yes API & GUI & SQL Yes
Advantage Database Server Yes Yes Yes Yes (Row-level locking) ? Yes4 API & SQL Yes
Altibase Yes Yes Yes Yes (Row-level locking) ? Yes API & GUI & SQL Yes
Apache Derby Yes Yes Yes Yes (Row-level locking) [54] ? Yes SQL Yes
ClustrixDB Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes SQL Yes
CockroachDB Yes Yes Yes Yes (Row-level locking) Yes Yes SQL No
CUBRID Yes Yes Yes Yes (Row-level locking) Yes Yes GUI & SQL Yes
IBM Db2 Yes Yes Yes Yes (Row-level locking)[55] ? Yes GUI & SQL Yes
Empress Embedded Database Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes API & SQL Yes
EXASolution Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes API & GUI & SQL Yes
Firebird Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes API & SQL Yes
HSQLDB Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes SQL Yes
H2 Yes Yes Yes ? Yes[56] Yes SQL Yes
Informix Dynamic Server Yes Yes Yes Yes (Row-level locking) Yes Yes SQL, REST, MQ, and JSON Yes
Ingres Yes Yes Yes Yes (Row-level locking) Yes Yes SQL & QUEL Yes
InterBase Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes SQL Yes
Linter SQL RDBMS Yes Yes Yes (Except for DDL) Yes (Row-level locking) ? Yes API & GUI & SQL Yes
LucidDB Yes No No ? ? Yes SQL Yes
MariaDB Yes2 Yes Yes2 except for DDL[57][58] Yes (Row-level locking) Yes Yes SQL Yes
MaxDB Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes SQL Yes
Microsoft Access (JET) Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes GUI & SQL Yes
Microsoft Visual FoxPro Yes Yes Yes Yes (Row-level locking SMB2) Yes No GUI & SQL Yes
Microsoft SQL Server Yes Yes Yes Yes (Row-level locking)[59] Yes Yes GUI & SQL Yes
Microsoft SQL Server Compact (Embedded Database) Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes GUI & SQL Yes
Mimer SQL Yes Yes Yes Yes (Optimistic locking) Yes Yes API & GUI & SQL Yes
MonetDB Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes API & SQL & MAL Yes
MySQL Yes2 Yes3 Yes2 except for DDL[57] Yes (Row-level locking)[60] Yes Yes GUI 5 & SQL Yes
OpenEdge Yes Yes6 Yes Yes (Row-level locking) ? Yes GUI & SQL Yes
OpenLink Virtuoso Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes API & GUI & SQL Yes
Oracle Yes Yes Yes except for DDL[57] Yes (Row-level locking)[61] Yes Yes API & GUI & SQL Yes
Oracle Rdb Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes SQL Yes
Actian Zen (PSQL) Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes API & GUI & SQL Yes
Polyhedra DBMS Yes Yes Yes Yes (optimistic and pessimistic cell-level locking)[62] ? Yes API & SQL Yes
PostgreSQL Yes Yes Yes Yes (Row-level locking)[63] Yes Yes API & GUI & SQL No[64]
SAP HANA Yes Yes Yes Yes (Row-level locking) Yes Yes API & GUI & SQL Yes
solidDB Yes Yes Yes Yes (Row-level locking) ? Yes API & SQL Yes
SQL Anywhere Yes Yes Yes Yes (Row-level locking)[65] Yes[66] Yes API & GUI & HTTP(S) (REST & SOAP)[67] & SQL Yes
SQLBase Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes API & GUI & SQL Yes
SQLite Yes Yes Yes No (Database-level locking)[68] No Optional[69] API & SQL Yes
Superbase NG ? ? ? Yes (Record-level locking) ? Yes GUI & Proprietary & ODBC Yes
Teradata Yes Yes Yes Yes (Hash and Partition) ? Yes SQL Yes
TiDB Yes Yes Yes except for DDL[57] Yes (Row-level locking)[70] Yes Yes GUI 5 & SQL Yes
UniData Yes No Yes ? ? Yes Multiple Yes
UniVerse Yes No Yes ? ? Yes Multiple Yes
Database Name ACID Referential integrity Transactions Fine-grained locking Multiversion concurrency control Unicode Interface Type inference
  • Note (1): Currently only supports read uncommitted transaction isolation. Version 1.9 adds serializable isolation and version 2.0 will be fully ACID compliant.
  • Note (2): MariaDB and MySQL provide ACID compliance through the default InnoDB storage engine.[71][72]
  • Note (3): "For other than InnoDB storage engines, MySQL Server parses and ignores the FOREIGN KEY and REFERENCES syntax in CREATE TABLE statements. The CHECK clause is parsed but ignored by all storage engines."[73]
  • Note (4): Support for Unicode is new in version 10.0.
  • Note (5): MySQL provides GUI interface through MySQL Workbench.
  • Note (6): OpenEdge SQL database engine uses Referential Integrity, OpenEdge ABL Database engine does not and is handled via database triggers.

Limits[edit]

Information about data size limits.

Max DB size Max table size Max row size Max columns per row Max Blob/Clob size Max CHAR size Max NUMBER size Min DATE value Max DATE value Max column name size
4th Dimension Limited ? ? 65,135 200 GB (2 GiB Unicode) 200 GB (2 GiB Unicode) 64 bits ? ? ?
Advantage Database Server Unlimited 16 EiB 65,530 B 65,135 / (10+ AvgFieldNameLength) 4 GiB ? 64 bits ? ? 128
Apache Derby Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited 1,012 (5,000 in views) 2,147,483,647 chars 254 (VARCHAR: 32,672) 64 bits 0001-01-01 9999-12-31 128
ClustrixDB Unlimited Unlimited 64 MB on Appliance, 4 MB on AWS ? 64 MB 64 MB 64 MB 0001-01-01 9999-12-31 254
CUBRID 2 EB 2 EB Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited 1 GB 64 bits 0001-01-01 9999-12-31 254
IBM DB2 Unlimited 2 ZB 1,048,319 B 1,012 2 GB 32 KiB 64 bits 0001-01-01 9999-12-31 128
Empress Embedded Database Unlimited 263−1 bytes 2 GB 32,767 2 GB 2 GB 64 bits 0000-01-01 9999-12-31 32
EXASolution Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited 10,000 2 MB 128 bits 0001-01-01 9999-12-31 256
FileMaker 8 TB 8 TB 8 TB 256,000,000 4 GB 10,000,000 1 billion characters, 10−400 to 10400, +- 0001-01-01 4000-12-31 100
Firebird Unlimited1 ~32 TB 65,536 B Depends on data types used 32 GB 32,767 B 64 bits 100 32768 31
HSQLDB 64 TB Unlimited8 Unlimited8 Unlimited8 64 TB7 Unlimited8 Unlimited8 0001-01-01 9999-12-31 128
H2 64 TB Unlimited8 Unlimited8 Unlimited8 64 TB7 Unlimited8 64 bits -99999999 99999999 Unlimited8
Max DB size Max table size Max row size Max columns per row Max Blob/Clob size Max CHAR size Max NUMBER size Min DATE value Max DATE value Max column name size
Informix Dynamic Server ~128 PB12 ~128 PB12 32,765 bytes (exclusive of large objects) 32,765 4 TB 32,765 10125 13 01/01/000110 12/31/9999 128 bytes
Ingres Unlimited Unlimited 256 KB 1,024 2 GB 32 000 B 64 bits 0001 9999 256
InterBase Unlimited1 ~32 TB 65,536 B Depends on data types used 2 GB 32,767 B 64 bits 100 32768 31
Linter SQL RDBMS Unlimited 230 rows 64 KB (w/o BLOBs),
2GB (each BLOB value)
250 2 GB 4000 B 64 bits 0001-01-01 9999-12-31 66
MariaDB Unlimited MyISAM storage limits: 256 TB;
Innodb storage limits: 64 TB;
Aria storage limits: ???
64 KB3 4,0964 4 GB (longtext, longblob) 64 KB (text) 64 bits 1000 9999 64[74]
Microsoft Access (JET) 2 GB 2 GB 16 MB 255 64 KB (memo field),
1 GB ("OLE Object" field)
255 B (text field) 32 bits 0100 9999 64
Microsoft Visual Foxpro Unlimited 2 GB 65,500 B 255 2 GB 16 MB 32 bits 0001 9999 10
Microsoft SQL Server 524,272 TB (32 767 files × 16 TB max file size)

16ZB per instance

524,272 TB 8,060 bytes / 2 TB6 1,024 / 30,000(with sparse columns) 2 GB / Unlimited (using RBS/FILESTREAM object) 2 GB6 126 bits2 0001 9999 128
Microsoft SQL Server Compact (Embedded Database) 4 GB 4 GB 8,060 bytes 1024 2 GB 4000 154 bits 0001 9999 128
Mimer SQL Unlimited Unlimited 16000 (+lob data) 252 Unlimited 15000 45 digits 0001-01-01 9999-12-31 128
MonetDB Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited 2 GB 2 GB 128 bits -4712-01-01 9999-12-31 1024
MySQL Unlimited MyISAM storage limits: 256 TB; Innodb storage limits: 64 TB 64 KB3 4,0964 4 GB (longtext, longblob) 64 KB (text) 64 bits 1000 9999 64
OpenLink Virtuoso 32 TB per instance
(Unlimited via elastic cluster)
DB size (or 32 TB) 4 KB 200 2 GB 2 GB 231 0 9999 100
Oracle 2 PB (with standard 8k block)
8 PB (with max 32k block)
8 EB (with max 32k block and BIGFILE option)
4 GB × block size
(with BIGFILE tablespace)
8 KB 1,000 128 TB 32,767 B11 126 bits −4712 9999 128
Max DB size Max table size Max row size Max columns per row Max Blob/Clob size Max CHAR size Max NUMBER size Min DATE value Max DATE value Max column name size
Actian Zen (PSQL) 4 billion objects 256 GB 2 GB 1,536 2 GB 8,000 bytes 64 bits 01-01-0001 12-31-9999 128 bytes
Polyhedra Limited by available RAM, address space 232 rows Unlimited 65,536 4 GB (subject to RAM) 4 GB (subject to RAM) 64 bits 0001-01-01 8000-12-31 255
PostgreSQL[75] Unlimited 32 TB 1.6 TB 250–1600 depending on type 1 GB (text, bytea) stored inline or 4 TB using pg_largeobject

[76]

1 GB Unlimited −4,713

[77]

5,874,897 63
SAP HANA ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
solidDB 256 TB 256 TB 32 KB + BLOB data Limited by row size 4 GB 4 GB 64 bits -32768-01-01 32767-12-31 254
SQL Anywhere[78] 104 TB (13 files, each file up to 8 TB (32 KB pages)) Limited by file size Limited by file size 45,000 2 GB 2 GB 64 bits 0001-01-01 9999-12-31 128 bytes
SQLite 128 TB (231 pages × 64 KB max page size) Limited by file size Limited by file size 32,767 2 GB 2 GB 64 bits No DATE type9 No DATE type9 Unlimited
Teradata Unlimited Unlimited 64000 wo/lobs
(64 GB w/lobs)
2,048 2 GB 64,000 38 digits 0001-01-01 9999-12-31 128
UniVerse Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
Max DB size Max table size Max row size Max columns per row Max Blob/Clob size Max CHAR size Max NUMBER size Min DATE value Max DATE value Max column name size
  • Note (1): Firebird 2.x maximum database size is effectively unlimited with the largest known database size >980 GB.[79] Firebird 1.5.x maximum database size: 32 TB.
  • Note (2): Limit is 1038 using DECIMAL datatype.[80]
  • Note (3): InnoDB is limited to 8,000 bytes (excluding VARBINARY, VARCHAR, BLOB, or TEXT columns).[81]
  • Note (4): InnoDB is limited to 1,017 columns.[81]
  • Note (6): Using VARCHAR (MAX) in SQL 2005 and later.[82]
  • Note (7): When using a page size of 32 KB, and when BLOB/CLOB data is stored in the database file.
  • Note (8): Java array size limit of 2,147,483,648 (231) objects per array applies. This limit applies to number of characters in names, rows per table, columns per table, and characters per CHAR/VARCHAR.
  • Note (9): Despite the lack of a date datatype, SQLite does include date and time functions,[83] which work for timestamps between 24 November 4714 B.C. and 1 November 5352.
  • Note (10): Informix DATETIME type has adjustable range from YEAR only through 1/10000th second. DATETIME date range is 0001-01-01 00:00:00.00000 through 9999-12-31 23:59:59.99999.
  • Note (11): Since version 12c. Earlier versions support up to 4000 B.
  • Note (12): The 128 PB limit refers to the storage limit of a single Informix server instance. Informix v12.10 and later versions support using sharding techniques to distribute a table across multiple server instances. A distributed Informix database has no upper limit on table or database size.
  • Note (13): Informix DECIMAL type supports up to 32 decimal digits of precision with a range of 10−130 to 10125. Fixed and variable precision are supported.

Tables and views[edit]

Information about what tables and views (other than basic ones) are supported natively.

Temporary table Materialized view
4th Dimension Yes No
ADABAS ? ?
Adaptive Server Enterprise Yes1 Yes – see precomputed result sets
Advantage Database Server Yes No (only common views)
Altibase Yes No (only common views)
Apache Derby Yes No
ClustrixDB Yes No
CUBRID Yes (only CTE) No (only common views)
IBM Db2 Yes Yes
Empress Embedded Database Yes Yes
EXASolution Yes No
Firebird Yes No (only common views)
HSQLDB Yes No
H2 Yes No (only common views)
Informix Dynamic Server Yes No2
Ingres Yes No
InterBase Yes No
Linter SQL RDBMS Yes Yes
LucidDB No No
MariaDB Yes No4
MaxDB Yes No
Microsoft Access (JET) No No
Microsoft Visual Foxpro Yes Yes
Microsoft SQL Server Yes Yes
Microsoft SQL Server Compact (Embedded Database) Yes No
Mimer SQL No No
MonetDB Yes No (only common views)
MySQL Yes No4
Oracle Yes Yes
Oracle Rdb Yes Yes
OpenLink Virtuoso Yes Yes
Actian Zen (PSQL) Yes No
Polyhedra DBMS No No (only common views)
PostgreSQL Yes Yes
SAP HANA Yes ?
solidDB Yes No (only common views)
SQL Anywhere Yes Yes
SQLite Yes No
Superbase Yes Yes
Teradata Yes Yes
UniData Yes No
UniVerse Yes No
Temporary table Materialized view

Note (1): Server provides tempdb, which can be used for public and private (for the session) temp tables.[84]

Note (2): Materialized views are not supported in Informix; the term is used in IBM's documentation to refer to a temporary table created to run the view's query when it is too complex, but one cannot for example define the way it is refreshed or build an index on it. The term is defined in the Informix Performance Guide.[85]

Note (4): Materialized views can be emulated using stored procedures and triggers.[86]

Indexes[edit]

Information about what indexes (other than basic B-/B+ tree indexes) are supported natively.

R-/R+ tree Hash Expression Partial Reverse Bitmap GiST GIN Full-text Spatial FOT Duplicate index prevention
4th Dimension ? Cluster ? ? ? ? ? ? Yes ? ? No
ADABAS ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? No
Adaptive Server Enterprise No No Yes No Yes No No No Yes ? ? No
Advantage Database Server No No Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes ? ? No
Apache Derby No No No No No No No No No[87] ? ? No
ClustrixDB No Yes No No No No No No No No ? No
CUBRID No No Yes[88] Yes[88] Yes No No No No No No No
IBM Db2 Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes[89] ? ? No
Empress Embedded Database Yes No No Yes No Yes No No No ? ? No
EXASolution No Yes No No No No No No No ? ? No
Firebird No No Yes No Yes No No No No[90] ? ? No
HSQLDB No No No No No No No No No ? ? No
H2 No Yes No No No No No No Yes[91] Yes[92] ? No
Informix Dynamic Server Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[93] Yes
Ingres Yes Yes Ingres v10 No No Ingres v10 No No No ? ? No
InterBase No No No No No No No No No ? ? No
Linter SQL RDBMS10 No Yes temporary indexes for equality joins Yes for some scalar functions like LOWER and UPPER No No No No No Yes[94] No No Yes
LucidDB No No No No No Yes No No No ? ? No
MariaDB Aria and MyISAM tables and, since v10.2.2, InnoDB tables only[95] MEMORY,[96] InnoDB,5 tables only PERSISTENT virtual columns only[97] No No No No No Yes[98] Aria and MyISAM tables and, since v10.2.2, InnoDB tables only[95] ? No
MaxDB No No No No No No No No No ? ? No
Microsoft Access (JET) No No No No No No No No No[99] ? ? No
Microsoft Visual Foxpro No No Yes Yes Yes2 Yes No No No ? ? No
Microsoft SQL Server Spatial Indexes Yes4 Yes3 Yes on Computed columns3 Bitmap filter index for Star Join Query No No Yes[100] Yes[101] ? No
Microsoft SQL Server Compact (Embedded Database) No No No No No No No No No[102] ? ? No
Mimer SQL No No No No Yes No No No Yes Yes No No
MonetDB No Yes No No No No No No No No No No
MySQL Spatial Indexes[103] MEMORY, Cluster (NDB), InnoDB,5 tables only No[104] No No No No No MyISAM tables[105] and, since v5.6.4, InnoDB tables[106] MyISAM tables[107] and, since v5.7.5, InnoDB tables[108] ? No
OpenLink Virtuoso Yes Cluster Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes Yes (Commercial only) No No
Oracle Yes 11 Cluster Tables Yes Yes 6 Yes Yes No No Yes[109] Yes[110] ? Yes[111]
Oracle Rdb No Yes ? No No ? No No ? ? ? No
Actian Zen (PSQL) No No No No No No No No No No No No
Polyhedra DBMS No Yes No No No No No No No No ? No
PostgreSQL Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes7 Yes Yes[112] Yes Yes[113] PostGIS[114] No No
SAP HANA ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? No
solidDB No No No No Yes No No No No No No No
SQL Anywhere No No Yes No No No No No Yes Yes ? Yes
SQLite Yes[115] No Yes[116] Yes No No No No Yes[117] SpatiaLite[118] ? No
SQream DB ? ? ? ? Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? No
Teradata No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No ?[119] ? ? No
UniVerse Yes Yes Yes3 Yes3 Yes3 No No No ? Yes[120] ? No
R-/R+ tree Hash Expression Partial Reverse Bitmap GiST GIN Full-text Spatial FOT Duplicate index prevention

Note (1): The users need to use a function from freeAdhocUDF library or similar.[121]

Note (2): Can be implemented for most data types using expression-based indexes.

Note (3): Can be emulated by indexing a computed column[122] (doesn't easily update) or by using an "Indexed View"[123] (proper name not just any view works[124]).

Note (4): Used for InMemory ColumnStore index, temporary hash index for hash join, Non/Cluster & fill factor.

Note (5): InnoDB automatically generates adaptive hash index[125] entries as needed.

Note (6): Can be implemented using Function-based Indexes in Oracle 8i and higher, but the function needs to be used in the sql for the index to be used.

Note (7): A PostgreSQL functional index can be used to reverse the order of a field.

Note (10): B+ tree and full-text only for now.

Note (11): R-Tree indexing available in base edition with Locator but some functionality requires Personal Edition or Enterprise Edition with Spatial option.

Database capabilities[edit]

Union Intersect Except Inner joins Outer joins Inner selects Merge joins Blobs and clobs Common table expressions Windowing functions Parallel query System-versioned tables
4th Dimension Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes ? ? ? ?
ADABAS Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Adaptive Server Enterprise Yes ? ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes ?
Advantage Database Server Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? No ? ?
Altibase Yes Yes Yes, via MINUS Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No ?
Apache Derby Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Yes No No ? ?
ClustrixDB Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
CUBRID Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[88] ? ?
IBM Db2 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[126] Yes[127]
Empress Embedded Database Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? ? ?
EXASolution Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes ?
Firebird Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ?
HSQLDB Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[128] Yes Yes No Yes[128] ?
H2 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes experimental[129] Yes[130] ? ?
Informix Dynamic Server Yes Yes Yes, via MINUS Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[131] ?
Ingres Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[132] Yes[133] Yes[134] ?
InterBase Yes ? ? Yes Yes ? ? Yes ? ? ? ?
Linter SQL RDBMS Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
LucidDB Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No ? ? ? ?
MariaDB Yes 10.3+[135] 10.3+[136] Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes[137] Yes[138] No[139] Yes[127]
MaxDB Yes ? ? Yes Yes Yes No Yes ? ? ? ?
Microsoft Access (JET) Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No ? ?
Microsoft Visual Foxpro Yes ? ? Yes Yes Yes ? Yes ? ? ? ?
Microsoft SQL Server Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[140] Yes[141] Yes[127]
Microsoft SQL Server Compact (Embedded Database) Yes No No Yes Yes ? No Yes No No ? ?
Mimer SQL Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes No No ?
MonetDB Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
MySQL Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes 8+[142] 8+[143] No[139] No[127]
OpenLink Virtuoso Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Yes ? ? Yes ?
Oracle Yes Yes Yes, via MINUS Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 1 Yes Yes[144] Yes[145]
Oracle Rdb Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? ? ?
Actian Zen (PSQL) Yes No No Yes Yes ? ? Yes No No No ?
Polyhedra DBMS Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No No ?
PostgreSQL Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[146] No[127]
SAP HANA ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
solidDB Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No ?
SQL Anywhere Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
SQLite Yes Yes Yes Yes LEFT only Yes No Yes 3.8.3+[147] 3.25+[148] No No[127]
SQream DB ALL only No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No ?
Teradata Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
UniVerse Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No ? ?
Union Intersect Except Inner joins Outer joins Inner selects Merge joins Blobs and clobs Common table expressions Windowing functions Parallel query System-versioned tables

Note (1): Recursive CTEs introduced in 11gR2 supersedes similar construct called CONNECT BY.

Data types[edit]

Type system Integer Floating point Decimal String Binary Date/Time Boolean Other
4th Dimension Static UUID (16-bit), SMALLINT (16-bit), INT (32-bit), BIGINT (64-bit), NUMERIC (64-bit) REAL, FLOAT REAL, FLOAT CLOB, TEXT, VARCHAR BIT, BIT VARYING, BLOB DURATION, INTERVAL, TIMESTAMP BOOLEAN PICTURE
Altibase[149] Static SMALLINT (16-bit), INTEGER (32-bit), BIGINT (64-bit) REAL (32-bit), DOUBLE (64-bit) DECIMAL, NUMERIC, NUMBER, FLOAT CHAR, VARCHAR, NCHAR, NVARCHAR, CLOB BLOB, BYTE, NIBBLE, BIT, VARBIT DATE GEOMETRY
ClustrixDB[150] Static TINYINT (8-bit), SMALLINT (16-bit), MEDIUMINT (24-bit), INT (32-bit), BIGINT (64-bit) FLOAT (32-bit), DOUBLE DECIMAL CHAR, BINARY, VARCHAR, VARBINARY, TEXT, TINYTEXT, MEDIUMTEXT, LONGTEXT TINYBLOB, BLOB, MEDIUMBLOB, LONGBLOB DATETIME, DATE, TIMESTAMP, YEAR BIT(1), BOOLEAN ENUM, SET,
CUBRID[151] Static SMALLINT (16-bit), INTEGER (32-bit), BIGINT (64-bit) FLOAT, REAL(32-bit), DOUBLE(64-bit) DECIMAL, NUMERIC CHAR, VARCHAR, NCHAR, NVARCHAR, CLOB BLOB DATE, DATETIME, TIME, TIMESTAMP BIT MONETARY, BIT VARYING, SET, MULTISET, SEQUENCE, ENUM
IBM Db2 ? SMALLINT (16-bit), INTEGER (32-bit), BIGINT (64-bit) DECFLOAT, REAL, DOUBLE DECIMAL CLOB, CHAR, VARCHAR BINARY, VARBINARY, BLOB DATE, TIME, TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE, TIMESTAMP WITHOUT TIME ZONE BOOLEAN XML, GRAPHIC, VARGRAPHIC, DBCLOB, ROWID
Empress Embedded Database Static TINYINT, SQL_TINYINT, or INTEGER8; SMALLINT, SQL_SMALLINT, or INTEGER16; INTEGER, INT, SQL_INTEGER, or INTEGER32; BIGINT, SQL_BIGINT, or INTEGER64 REAL, SQL_REAL, or FLOAT32; DOUBLE PRECISION, SQL_DOUBLE, or FLOAT64; FLOAT, or SQL_FLOAT; EFLOAT DECIMAL, DEC, NUMERIC, SQL_DECIMAL, or SQL_NUMERIC; DOLLAR CHARACTER, ECHARACTER, CHARACTER VARYING, NATIONAL CHARACTER, NATIONAL CHARACTER VARYING, NLSCHARACTER, CHARACTER LARGE OBJECT, TEXT, NATIONAL CHARACTER LARGE OBJECT, NLSTEXT BINARY LARGE OBJECT or BLOB; BULK DATE, EDATE, TIME, ETIME, EPOCH_TIME, TIMESTAMP, MICROTIMESTAMP BOOLEAN SEQUENCE 32, SEQUENCE
EXASolution Static TINYINT, SMALLINT, INTEGER, BIGINT, REAL, FLOAT, DOUBLE DECIMAL, DEC, NUMERIC, NUMBER CHAR, NCHAR, VARCHAR, VARCHAR2, NVARCHAR, NVARCHAR2, CLOB, NCLOB N/A DATE, TIMESTAMP, INTERVAL BOOLEAN, BOOL GEOMETRY
FileMaker[152] Static Not Supported Not Supported NUMBER TEXT CONTAINER TIMESTAMP Not Supported
Firebird[153] ? INT64, INTEGER, SMALLINT DOUBLE, FLOAT DECIMAL, NUMERIC, DECIMAL(18, 4), DECIMAL(10, 4) BLOB, CHAR, CHAR(x) CHARACTER SET UNICODE_FSS, VARCHAR(x) CHARACTER SET UNICODE_FSS, VARCHAR BLOB SUB_TYPE TEXT, BLOB DATE, TIME, TIMESTAMP (without time zone) BOOLEAN TIMESTAMP, CHAR(38), User defined types (Domains)
Type system Integer Floating point Decimal String Binary Date/Time Boolean Other
HSQLDB[154] Static TINYINT (8-bit), SMALLINT (16-bit), INTEGER (32-bit), BIGINT (64-bit) DOUBLE (64-bit) DECIMAL, NUMERIC CHAR, VARCHAR, LONGVARCHAR, CLOB BINARY, VARBINARY, LONGVARBINARY, BLOB DATE, TIME, TIMESTAMP, INTERVAL BOOLEAN OTHER (object), BIT, BIT VARYING, ARRAY
Informix Dynamic Server[155] Static + UDT SMALLINT (16-bit), INT (32-bit), INT8 (64-bit proprietary), BIGINT (64-bit) SMALLFLOAT (32-bit), FLOAT (64-bit) DECIMAL (32 decimal digits float/fixed, range 10130 to +10125), MONEY CHAR, VARCHAR, NCHAR, NVARCHAR, LVARCHAR, CLOB, TEXT TEXT, BYTE, BLOB, CLOB DATE, DATETIME, INTERVAL BOOLEAN SET, LIST, MULTISET, ROW, TIMESERIES, SPATIAL, GEODETIC, JSON, BSON, USER DEFINED TYPES
Ingres[156] Static TINYINT (8-bit), SMALLINT (16-bit), INTEGER (32-bit), BIGINT (64-bit) FLOAT4 (32-bit), FLOAT (64-bit) DECIMAL C, CHAR, VARCHAR, LONG VARCHAR, NCHAR, NVARCHAR, LONG NVARCHAR, TEXT BYTE, VARBYTE, LONG VARBYTE (BLOB) DATE, ANSIDATE, INGRESDATE, TIME, TIMESTAMP, INTERVAL N/A MONEY, OBJECT_KEY, TABLE_KEY, USER-DEFINED DATA TYPES (via OME)
Linter SQL RDBMS Static + Dynamic (in stored procedures) SMALLINT (16-bit), INTEGER (32-bit), BIGINT (64-bit) REAL(32-bit), DOUBLE(64-bit) DECIMAL, NUMERIC CHAR, VARCHAR, NCHAR, NVARCHAR, BLOB BYTE, VARBYTE, BLOB DATE BOOLEAN GEOMETRY, EXTFILE
MariaDB[157] Static TINYINT (8-bit), SMALLINT (16-bit), MEDIUMINT (24-bit), INT (32-bit), BIGINT (64-bit) FLOAT (32-bit), DOUBLE (aka REAL) (64-bit) DECIMAL CHAR, BINARY, VARCHAR, VARBINARY, TEXT, TINYTEXT, MEDIUMTEXT, LONGTEXT TINYBLOB, BLOB, MEDIUMBLOB, LONGBLOB DATETIME, DATE, TIMESTAMP, YEAR BIT(1), BOOLEAN (aka BOOL) = synonym for TINYINT ENUM, SET, GIS data types (Geometry, Point, Curve, LineString, Surface, Polygon, GeometryCollection, MultiPoint, MultiCurve, MultiLineString, MultiSurface, MultiPolygon)
Microsoft SQL Server[158] Static TINYINT, SMALLINT, INT, BIGINT FLOAT, REAL NUMERIC, DECIMAL, SMALLMONEY, MONEY CHAR, VARCHAR, TEXT, NCHAR, NVARCHAR, NTEXT BINARY, VARBINARY, IMAGE, FILESTREAM, FILETABLE DATE, DATETIMEOFFSET, DATETIME2, SMALLDATETIME, DATETIME, TIME BIT CURSOR, TIMESTAMP, HIERARCHYID, UNIQUEIDENTIFIER, SQL_VARIANT, XML, TABLE, Geometry, Geography, Custom .NET datatypes
Microsoft SQL Server Compact (Embedded Database)[159] Static TINYINT, SMALLINT, INT, BIGINT FLOAT, REAL NUMERIC, DECIMAL, MONEY NCHAR, NVARCHAR, NTEXT BINARY, VARBINARY, IMAGE DATETIME BIT TIMESTAMP, ROWVERSION, UNIQUEIDENTIFIER, IDENTITY, ROWGUIDCOL
Mimer SQL Static SMALLINT, INT, BIGINT, INTEGER(n) FLOAT, REAL, DOUBLE, FLOAT(n) NUMERIC, DECIMAL CHAR, VARCHAR, NCHAR, NVARCHAR, CLOB, NCLOB BINARY, VARBINARY, BLOB DATE, TIME, TIMESTAMP, INTERVAL BOOLEAN DOMAINS, USER-DEFINED TYPES (including the pre-defined spatial data types location, latitude, longitude and coordinate, and UUID)
MonetDB Static, extensible TINYINT, SMALLINT, INT, INTEGER, BIGINT, HUGEINT, SERIAL, BIGSERIAL FLOAT, FLOAT(n), REAL, DOUBLE, DOUBLE PRECISION DECIMAL, NUMERIC CHAR, CHAR(n), VARCHAR(n), CLOB, CLOB(n), TEXT, STRING BLOB, BLOB(n) DATE, TIME, TIME WITH TIME ZONE, TIMESTAMP, TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE, INTERVAL MONTH, INTERVAL DAY, INTERVAL SECOND BOOLEAN JSON, JSON(n), URL, URL(n), INET, UUID, GIS data types (Geometry, Point, Curve, LineString, Surface, Polygon, GeometryCollection, MultiPoint, MultiCurve, MultiLineString, MultiSurface, MultiPolygon), User Defined Types
MySQL[150] Static TINYINT (8-bit), SMALLINT (16-bit), MEDIUMINT (24-bit), INT (32-bit), BIGINT (64-bit) FLOAT (32-bit), DOUBLE (aka REAL) (64-bit) DECIMAL CHAR, BINARY, VARCHAR, VARBINARY, TEXT, TINYTEXT, MEDIUMTEXT, LONGTEXT TINYBLOB, BLOB, MEDIUMBLOB, LONGBLOB DATETIME, DATE, TIMESTAMP, YEAR BIT(1), BOOLEAN (aka BOOL) = synonym for TINYINT ENUM, SET, GIS data types (Geometry, Point, Curve, LineString, Surface, Polygon, GeometryCollection, MultiPoint, MultiCurve, MultiLineString, MultiSurface, MultiPolygon)
OpenLink Virtuoso[160] Static + Dynamic INT, INTEGER, SMALLINT REAL, DOUBLE PRECISION, FLOAT, FLOAT(n) DECIMAL, DECIMAL(n), DECIMAL(m, n), NUMERIC, NUMERIC(n), NUMERIC(m, n) CHARACTER, CHAR(n), VARCHAR, VARCHAR(n), NVARCHAR, NVARCHAR(n) BLOB TIMESTAMP, DATETIME, TIME, DATE N/A ANY, REFERENCE (IRI, URI), UDT (User Defined Type), GEOMETRY (BOX, BOX2D, BOX3D, BOXM, BOXZ, BOXZM, CIRCULARSTRING, COMPOUNDCURVE, CURVEPOLYGON, EMPTY, GEOMETRYCOLLECTION, GEOMETRYCOLLECTIONM, GEOMETRYCOLLECTIONZ, GEOMETRYCOLLECTIONZM, LINESTRING, LINESTRINGM, LINESTRINGZ, LINESTRINGZM, MULTICURVE, MULTILINESTRING, MULTILINESTRINGM, MULTILINESTRINGZ, MULTILINESTRINGZM, MULTIPOINT, MULTIPOINTM, MULTIPOINTZ, MULTIPOINTZM, MULTIPOLYGON, MULTIPOLYGONM, MULTIPOLYGONZ, MULTIPOLYGONZM, POINT, POINTM, POINTZ, POINTZM, POLYGON, POLYGONM, POLYGONZ, POLYGONZM, POLYLINE, POLYLINEZ, RING, RINGM, RINGZ, RINGZM)
Type system Integer Floating point Decimal String Binary Date/Time Boolean Other
Oracle[161] Static + Dynamic (through ANYDATA) NUMBER BINARY_FLOAT, BINARY_DOUBLE NUMBER CHAR, VARCHAR2, CLOB, NCLOB, NVARCHAR2, NCHAR, LONG (deprecated) BLOB, RAW, LONG RAW (deprecated), BFILE DATE, TIMESTAMP (with/without TIME ZONE), INTERVAL N/A SPATIAL, IMAGE, AUDIO, VIDEO, DICOM, XMLType, UDT, JSON
Actian Zen (PSQL)[162] Static BIGINT, INTEGER, SMALLINT, TINYINT, UBIGINT, UINTEGER, USMALLINT, UTINYINT BFLOAT4, BFLOAT8, DOUBLE, FLOAT DECIMAL, NUMERIC, NUMERICSA, NUMERICSLB, NUMERICSLS, NUMERICSTB, NUMERICSTS CHAR, LONGVARCHAR, VARCHAR BINARY, LONGVARBINARY, VARBINARY DATE, DATETIME, TIME BIT CURRENCY, IDENTITY, SMALLIDENTITY, TIMESTAMP, UNIQUEIDENTIFIER
Polyhedra[163] Static INTEGER8 (8-bit), INTEGER(16-bit), INTEGER (32-bit), INTEGER64 (64-bit) FLOAT32 (32-bit), FLOAT (aka REAL; 64-bit) N/A VARCHAR, LARGE VARCHAR (aka CHARACTER LARGE OBJECT) LARGE BINARY (aka BINARY LARGE OBJECT) DATETIME BOOLEAN N/A
PostgreSQL[164] Static SMALLINT (16-bit), INTEGER (32-bit), BIGINT (64-bit) REAL (32-bit), DOUBLE PRECISION (64-bit) DECIMAL, NUMERIC CHAR, VARCHAR, TEXT BYTEA DATE, TIME (with/without TIME ZONE), TIMESTAMP (with/without TIME ZONE), INTERVAL BOOLEAN ENUM, POINT, LINE, LSEG, BOX, PATH, POLYGON, CIRCLE, CIDR, INET, MACADDR, BIT, UUID, XML, JSON, JSONB, arrays, composites, ranges, custom
SAP HANA Static TINYINT, SMALLINT, INTEGER, BIGINT SMALLDECIMAL, REAL, DOUBLE, FLOAT, FLOAT(n) DECIMAL VARCHAR, NVARCHAR, ALPHANUM, SHORTTEXT VARBINARY, BINTEXT, BLOB DATE, TIME, SECONDDATE, TIMESTAMP BOOLEAN CLOB, NCLOB, TEXT, ARRAY, ST_GEOMETRY, ST_POINT, ST_MULTIPOINT, ST_LINESTRING, ST_MULTILINESTRING, ST_POLYGON, ST_MULTIPOLYGON, ST_GEOMETRYCOLLECTION, ST_CIRCULARSTRING
solidDB Static TINYINT (8-bit), SMALLINT (16-bit), INTEGER (32-bit), BIGINT (64-bit) REAL (32-bit), DOUBLE (64-bit), FLOAT (64-bit) DECIMAL, NUMERIC (51 digits) CHAR, VARCHAR, LONG VARCHAR, WCHAR, WVARCHAR, LONG WVARCHAR BINARY, VARBINARY, LONG VARBINARY DATE, TIME, TIMESTAMP
SQLite[165] Dynamic INTEGER (64-bit) REAL (aka FLOAT, DOUBLE) (64-bit) N/A TEXT (aka CHAR, CLOB) BLOB N/A N/A N/A
SQream DB[166] Static TINYINT (8-bit), SMALLINT (16-bit), INTEGER (32-bit), BIGINT (64-bit) REAL (32-bit), DOUBLE (aka FLOAT) (64-bit) N/A CHAR, VARCHAR, NVARCHAR N/A DATE, DATETIME (aka TIMESTAMP) BOOL N/A
Type system Integer Floating point Decimal String Binary Date/Time Boolean Other
Teradata Static BYTEINT (8-bit), SMALLINT (16-bit), INTEGER (32-bit), BIGINT (64-bit) FLOAT (64-bit) DECIMAL, NUMERIC (38 digits) CHAR, VARCHAR, CLOB BYTE, VARBYTE, BLOB DATE, TIME, TIMESTAMP (w/wo TIME ZONE) PERIOD, INTERVAL, GEOMETRY, XML, JSON, UDT (User Defined Type)
UniData Dynamic N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
UniVerse Dynamic N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Type system Integer Floating point Decimal String Binary Date/Time Boolean Other

Other objects[edit]

Information about what other objects are supported natively.

Data Domain Cursor Trigger Function 1 Procedure 1 External routine 1
4th Dimension Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes
ADABAS ? Yes ? Yes? Yes? Yes
Adaptive Server Enterprise Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Advantage Database Server Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Altibase Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Apache Derby No Yes Yes Yes 2 Yes 2 Yes 2
ClustrixDB No Yes No Yes Yes Yes
CUBRID Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 2 Yes
Empress Embedded Database Yes via RANGE CHECK Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
EXASolution Yes No No Yes Yes Yes
IBM Db2 Yes via CHECK CONSTRAINT Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Firebird Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
HSQLDB Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes
H2 Yes No Yes 2 Yes 2 Yes 2 Yes
Informix Dynamic Server Yes via CHECK Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 5
Ingres Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
InterBase Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Linter SQL RDBMS No Yes Yes Yes Yes No
LucidDB No Yes No Yes 2 Yes 2 Yes 2
MariaDB Yes[167] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
MaxDB Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
Microsoft Access (JET) Yes No No No Yes, But single DML/DDL Operation Yes
Microsoft Visual Foxpro No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Microsoft SQL Server Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Microsoft SQL Server Compact (Embedded Database) No Yes No No No No
Mimer SQL Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
MonetDB No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
MySQL No 3 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Oracle Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Oracle Rdb Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
OpenLink Virtuoso Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Actian Zen (PSQL) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Polyhedra DBMS No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
PostgreSQL Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
SAP HANA ? ? ? ? ? ?
solidDB Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
SQL Anywhere Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
SQLite No No Yes No No Yes
Teradata No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
UniData No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
UniVerse No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Data Domain Cursor Trigger Function 1 Procedure 1 External routine 1

Note (1): Both function and procedure refer to internal routines written in SQL and/or procedural language like PL/SQL. External routine refers to the one written in the host languages, such as C, Java, Cobol, etc. "Stored procedure" is a commonly used term for these routine types. However, its definition varies between different database vendors.

Note (2): In Derby, H2, LucidDB, and CUBRID, users code functions and procedures in Java.

Note (3): ENUM datatype exists. CHECK clause is parsed, but not enforced in runtime.

Note (5): Informix supports external functions written in Java, C, & C++.

Partitioning[edit]

Information about what partitioning methods are supported natively.

Range Hash Composite (Range+Hash) List Expression Round Robin
4th Dimension ? ? ? ? ? ?
ADABAS ? ? ? ? ? ?
Adaptive Server Enterprise Yes Yes No Yes ? ?
Advantage Database Server No No No No ? ?
Altibase Yes Yes No Yes ? ?
Apache Derby No No No No ? ?
ClustrixDB Yes No No No No ?
CUBRID Yes Yes No Yes ? ?
IBM Db2 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
Empress Embedded Database No No No No ? ?
EXASolution No Yes No No No ?
Firebird No No No No ? ?
HSQLDB No No No No ? ?
H2 No No No No ? ?
Informix Dynamic Server Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Ingres Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ?
InterBase No No No No ? ?
Linter SQL RDBMS No No No No No ?
MariaDB Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ?
MaxDB No No No No ? ?
Microsoft Access (JET) No No No No ? ?
Microsoft Visual Foxpro No No No No ? ?
Microsoft SQL Server Yes via computed column via computed column Yes via computed column ?
Microsoft SQL Server Compact (Embedded Database) No No No No ? ?
Mimer SQL No No No No No ?
MonetDB Yes No No No Yes ?
MySQL Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ?
Oracle Yes Yes Yes Yes via Virtual Columns ?
Oracle Rdb Yes Yes ? ? ? ?
OpenLink Virtuoso Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
Actian Zen (PSQL) No No No No No ?
Polyhedra DBMS No No No No No ?
PostgreSQL Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
SAP HANA Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
solidDB Yes No No No ? ?
SQL Anywhere No No No No ? ?
SQLite No No No No ? ?
Teradata Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ?
UniVerse Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ?
Range Hash Composite (Range+Hash) List Expression Round Robin

Access control[edit]

Information about access control functionalities.

Native network encryption1 Brute-force protection Enterprise directory compatibility Password complexity rules2 Patch access3 Run unprivileged4 Audit Resource limit Separation of duties (RBAC)5 Security Certification Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC)
4D Yes (with SSL) ? Yes ? Yes Yes ? ? ? ? ?
Adaptive Server Enterprise Yes (optional; to pay) Yes Yes (optional ?) Yes Partial (need to register; depend on which product)[168] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes (EAL4+ 1) ?
Advantage Database Server Yes No No No Yes Yes No No Yes ? ?
CUBRID Yes (with SSL) ? No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ?
IBM Db2 Yes ? Yes (LDAP, Kerberos...) Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes (EAL4+6) ?
Empress Embedded Database ? ? No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No ?
EXASolution No Yes Yes (LDAP) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No ?
Firebird Yes Yes[169] Yes (Windows trusted authenification) Yes (by custom plugin) Yes (no security page)[170] Yes Yes[171] Yes No7 ? ?
HSQLDB Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No ?
H2 Yes Yes ? No ? Yes ? Yes Yes No ?
Informix Dynamic Server Yes ? Yes10 ?10 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Yes
Linter SQL RDBMS Yes (with SSL) Yes Yes Yes (length only) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
MariaDB Yes (SSL) No Yes (with 5.2, but not on Windows servers) Yes[172][173] Yes[174] Yes ? ? ?8 No ?
Microsoft SQL Server Yes ? Yes (Microsoft Active Directory) Yes Yes Yes Yes (From 2008) Yes Yes Yes (EAL4+11) ?
Microsoft SQL Server Compact (Embedded Database) No (not relevant, only file permissions) No (not relevant) No (not relevant) No (not relevant) Yes Yes (file access) Yes Yes No ? ?
Mimer SQL Yes ? ? ? Yes Yes (depending on OS) Yes ? Yes ? Yes
MySQL Yes (SSL with 4.0) No Yes (with 5.5, but only in commercial edition) No Partial (no security page)[175] Yes ? ? ?8 Yes ?
OpenLink Virtuoso Yes Yes Yes Yes (optional) Yes (optional) Yes Yes (optional) Yes (optional) Yes No Yes (optional)
Oracle Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes (EAL21) ?
Actian Zen (PSQL) Yes ? No No Yes Yes Yes 12 No No No ?
Polyhedra DBMS Yes (with SSL. Optional) No No No No Yes Yes 13 Yes Yes 13 No ?
PostgreSQL Yes Yes Yes (LDAP, Kerberos...9) Yes (with passwordcheck module) Yes[176] Yes Yes (with pgaudit extension)[177] Yes Yes Yes (EAL2+1) ?
SAP HANA ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
solidDB No No Yes No No Yes Yes No No No No
SQL Anywhere Yes ? Yes (Kerberos) Yes ? Yes Yes No Yes Yes (EAL2+1 as Adaptive Server Anywhere) ?
SQLite No (not relevant, only file permissions) No (not relevant) No (not relevant) No (not relevant) Partial (no security page)[178] Yes (file access) Yes Yes No No ?
Teradata Yes No Yes (LDAP, Kerberos...) Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Native network encryption1 Brute-force protection Enterprise directory compatibility Password complexity rules2 Patch access3 Run unprivileged4 Audit Resource limit Separation of duties (RBAC)5 Security Certification Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC)

Note (1): Network traffic could be transmitted in a secure way (not clear-text, in general SSL encryption). Precise if option is default, included option or an extra modules to buy.

Note (2): Options are present to set a minimum size for password, respect complexity like presence of numbers or special characters.

Note (3): How do you get security updates? Is it free access, do you need a login or to pay? Is there easy access through a Web/FTP portal or RSS feed or only through offline access (mail CD-ROM, phone).

Note (4): Does database process run as root/administrator or unprivileged user? What is default configuration?

Note (5): Is there a separate user to manage special operation like backup (only dump/restore permissions), security officer (audit), administrator (add user/create database), etc.? Is it default or optional?

Note (6): Common Criteria certified product list.[179]

Note (7): FirebirdSQL seems to only have SYSDBA user and DB owner. There are no separate roles for backup operator and security administrator.

Note (8): User can define a dedicated backup user but nothing particular in default install.[180]

Note (9): Authentication methods.[181]

Note (10): Informix Dynamic Server supports PAM and other configurable authentication. By default uses OS authentication.

Note (11): Authentication methods.[182]

Note (12): With the use of Pervasive AuditMaster.

Note (13): User-based security is optional in Polyhedra, but when enabled can be enhanced to a role-based model with auditing.[183]

Databases vs schemas (terminology)[edit]

The SQL specification defines what an "SQL schema" is; however, databases implement it differently. To compound this confusion the functionality can overlap with that of a parent database. An SQL schema is simply a namespace within a database; things within this namespace are addressed using the member operator dot ".". This seems to be a universal among all of the implementations.

A true fully (database, schema, and table) qualified query is exemplified as such: SELECT * FROM database.schema.table

Both a schema and a database can be used to isolate one table, "foo", from another like-named table "foo". The following is pseudo code:

  • SELECT * FROM database1.foo vs. SELECT * FROM database2.foo (no explicit schema between database and table)
  • SELECT * FROM [database1.]default.foo vs. SELECT * FROM [database1.]alternate.foo (no explicit database prefix)

The problem that arises is that former MySQL users will create multiple databases for one project. In this context, MySQL databases are analogous in function to PostgreSQL-schemas, insomuch as PostgreSQL deliberately lacks off-the-shelf cross-database functionality (preferring multi-tenancy) that MySQL has. Conversely, PostgreSQL has applied more of the specification implementing cross-table, cross-schema, and then left room for future cross-database functionality.

MySQL aliases schema with database behind the scenes, such that CREATE SCHEMA and CREATE DATABASE are analogs. It can therefore be said that MySQL has implemented cross-database functionality, skipped schema functionality entirely, and provided similar functionality into their implementation of a database. In summary, PostgreSQL fully supports schemas and multi-tenancy by strictly separating databases from each other and thus lacks some functionality MySQL has with databases, while MySQL does not even attempt to support standard schemas.

Oracle has its own spin where creating a user is synonymous with creating a schema. Thus a database administrator can create a user called PROJECT and then create a table PROJECT.TABLE. Users can exist without schema objects, but an object is always associated with an owner (though that owner may not have privileges to connect to the database). With the 'shared-everything' Oracle RAC architecture, the same database can be opened by multiple servers concurrently. This is independent of replication, which can also be used, whereby the data is copied for use by different servers. In the Oracle implementation, a 'database' is a set of files which contains the data while the 'instance' is a set of processes (and memory) through which a database is accessed.

Informix supports multiple databases in a server instance like MySQL. It supports the CREATE SCHEMA syntax as a way to group DDL statements into a single unit creating all objects created as a part of the schema as a single owner. Informix supports a database mode called ANSI mode which supports creating objects with the same name but owned by different users.

PostgreSQL and some other databases have support for foreign schemas, which is the ability to import schemas from other servers as defined in ISO/IEC 9075-9 (published as part of SQL:2008). This appears like any other schema in the database according to the SQL specification while accessing data stored either in a different database or a different server instance. The import can be made either as an entire foreign schema or merely certain tables belonging to that foreign schema.[184] While support for ISO/IEC 9075-9 bridges the gap between the two competing philosophies surrounding schemas, MySQL and Informix maintain an implicit association between databases while ISO/IEC 9075-9 requires that any such linkages be explicit in nature.

See also[edit]