Wandering Data

Not only are our colleagues in the Afaria team releasing their Afaria for iPhone product, but today the SQL Anywhere for iPhone Beta Program is open.

It’s been a long time since we announced that we’d be providing SQL Anywhere software for the iPhone but today, after a long and winding road, we are finally launching the SQL Anywhere for iPhone Beta program. If you register here, then you’ll be up and going quickly. Anyone who registered previously will hear from us today. The official announcement is here.

Here are some questions and answers about the release.

Q. What are the key features of SQL Anywhere for iPhone?

• Data synchronization between device and enterprise. With SQL Anywhere for iPhone, developers can build rich applications that use a local database on the device and that share data between the device and a server.
• Integration with enterprise databases. Developers can build applications that share data between the iPhone and relational databases such as Oracle, Sybase ASE and SQL Anywhere, IBM DB2, Microsoft SQL Server, and MySQL.
• Integration with enterprise systems. Developers can build applications that share data between the iPhone and enterprise systems.
• A common infrastructure for multiple devices. SQL Anywhere already supports Windows Mobile and BlackBerry. With iPhone support, SQL Anywhere now supports the three major smartphone platforms for business applications.

Q. What are the key benefits of SQL Anywhere for iPhone?

Businesses looking to provide line-of-business applications to their workforce can bring those applications to the iPhone using the same SQL Anywhere technology deployed on hundreds of thousands of other mobile devices.

Application developers looking to sell line-of-business applications can now use a single platform for all three major smartphone platforms for business applications.

Q. How is this different from other SQL Anywhere offerings? Why?

SQL Anywhere for iPhone brings most of the data management and data synchronization features available on other mobile platforms, such as Windows Mobile and BlackBerry, to the iPhone.

SQL Anywhere for iPhone includes the UltraLite database management system and synchronization client. This is a port of the UltraLite database for Windows Mobile already used in many enterprise deployments: the features and implementation are the same between the two platforms, so customers can be assured that this is already a mature and well-recognized technology.

At the server, a single SQL Anywhere MobiLink server can serve clients on all kinds of mobile devices, including the iPhone. The same set of enterprise systems are supported across all mobile devices.

To develop applications for the iPhone using SQL Anywhere, you need a Mac and a copy of the iPhone SDK. When it is reaches general availability, SQL Anywhere for iPhone will be distributed as part of SQL Anywhere for Mac OS.

Database encryption on device is supported, but encryption between the iPhone and the server is not currently supported. Push synchronization is not currently supported.

While UltraLite on Windows Mobile can be run either in-process or as a separate process, only the in-process version is available for iPhone, as iPhone does not support multiple processes running at the same time.

Q. How will developers deploy applications that include SQL Anywhere for iPhone?

Developers compile SQL Anywhere functionality into their application, and then deploy their application in the same way as any other application – through the App Store or through the same enterprise deployment mechanisms Apple recommends for other mobile applications.

Q. What iPhone versions does SQL Anywhere support?

This release supports iPhone version 3.1 and back as far as version 2.0.

Q. What version of SQL Anywhere is needed?

To synchronize data between the iPhone and a server, developers must have the SQL Anywhere 11 MobiLink synchronization server.