SD Version 1.0 released
Version 1.0 announcement:
As an end of the year gift to the multivalue community, Don M and Mark B are happy to announce version 1.0 of SD, the open source multivalue string database. This release contains various bug fixes and new features. We have moved the install and delete scripts into their own repository. The install script now handles everything needed to install SD on Fedora and Debian/Ubuntu based distros. In addition, much better error trapping has been added.
Mark has fixed several outstanding bugs in the core SD code base. Included are fixes for the termio.h problem and consistency in OS level file naming . He also has added many new functions for embedded python. PROC is now supported and TAPE and ACCOUNT.RESTORE functionality is available as an optional feature during install. Also, there is better handling of Messages. The repositories are:
https://github.com/stringdatabase/sdb64
https://github.com/stringdatabase/sd-scripts
If you are a developer, clone or download the sdb64 repository.
You can download the install and delete scripts from the GitHub sd-scripts repository or download a zip file containing the two scripts at:
https://u.pcloud.link/publink/show?code=XZsk7x5ZpwWPPooCElf8waiNp03rJQGV61yV
To install SD, just download the zip file, extract the scripts, make the scripts executable if needed and then run installsd.sh. The installer will handle installation of required packages, downloading and compiling of source, installation of SD into the proper directories and deletion of the temporary files.
---------------------------------------------------------------
What is SD?
SD is an open source multivalue database which extends the code originally released by Ladybridge software in 2007 under the GPL version 2.0 license.
Some independent developers forked the OpenQM code base and continued to develop an open source version called ScarletDME. However, parity with the commercial version was not maintained. In 2022 a 64 bit version of ScarletDME was released by one of the developers. However, since then, development of the open source version of ScarletDME has been very slow and the installation process is difficult.
In 2024 two new developers decided to fork ScarletDME, remove the legacy OpenQM and ScarletDME branding and release a 64 bit version called SD (for String Database) which also included a bash install script for easy installation. This new version is licensed under the GPL, version 3.0.
A few largely unused legacy features have been removed including vestiges of code that still remained to support Windows operating systems. Additions include embedded Python support and greater integration with the underlying operating system. The entire code base has been reviewed and several critical bugs fixed. One of the primary successes of SD is the installer script that automates the installation of the system. Another is the total removal of "binary bits" in the source code repository and the development of a python based compiler that allows all the source to be compiled during installation.
The two developers that originally created SD continue to work on the system as time and real life allows. Contributions by additional developers are welcomed and encouraged.
This forked version runs on 64 bit Linux only. An installer is provided for Ubuntu and Fedora based systems. Currently the installer has been tested on Debian 13, Ubuntu 24.04 and Fedora 43. Users have reported that it also installs on Ubuntu running under Windows Subsystem for Linux and Ubuntu on the Raspberry Pi 5.