Butler SQL
Encyclopedia
Butler SQL is a now-defunct SQL
-based database server
for the "classic" Mac OS
from EveryWare Development. For much of its history it was partnered with another EveryWare product, Tango, that built dynamic database pages from SQL data. The product eventually ended up with Pervasive Software
, although it is no longer sold.
Butler was introduced to take advantage of new a Mac OS component known as the Data Access Manager
(DAM), which was similar in concept to ODBC, allowing end-user client programs to access various data sources. Butler itself used another Apple technology, Data Access Language
(DAL), which was a variant of SQL that included additional flow-control and data manipulation instructions. Butler spoke DAL as its native internal language, and supplied a number of DAM extensions to provide connectivity over a variety of networking systems. Butler 2.0, released in May 1996, added direct ODBC links as well.
Butler suffered from performance problems due to the single-user nature of the Mac OS. In particular, file access was single-threaded and multitasking was coordinated by the applications, not the operating system.
SQL
SQL is a programming language designed for managing data in relational database management systems ....
-based database server
Database server
A database server is a computer program that provides database services to other computer programs or computers, as defined by the client–server model. The term may also refer to a computer dedicated to running such a program...
for the "classic" Mac OS
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
from EveryWare Development. For much of its history it was partnered with another EveryWare product, Tango, that built dynamic database pages from SQL data. The product eventually ended up with Pervasive Software
Pervasive Software
Pervasive Software develops and distributes data infrastructure software and ETL tools that integrate, analyze, secure, manage and harvest data from disparate sources. Pervasive Data Integrator and Pervasive Data Profiler are the flagship integration products, and the Pervasive PSQL relational...
, although it is no longer sold.
Butler was introduced to take advantage of new a Mac OS component known as the Data Access Manager
Data Access Manager
The Data Access Manager was a database access API for the Mac OS, introduced in 1991 as an extension to System 7. Similar in concept to ODBC, DAM saw little use and was eventually dropped in the late 1990s. Only a handful of products ever used it, although it was used for some extremely impressive...
(DAM), which was similar in concept to ODBC, allowing end-user client programs to access various data sources. Butler itself used another Apple technology, Data Access Language
Data Access Language
Data Access Language, or simply DAL, was a SQL-like language parser released by Apple Computer in 1990 to provide unified client/server access to database management systems. It was known for poor performance and high costs, something Apple did little to address over its short lifetime at Apple....
(DAL), which was a variant of SQL that included additional flow-control and data manipulation instructions. Butler spoke DAL as its native internal language, and supplied a number of DAM extensions to provide connectivity over a variety of networking systems. Butler 2.0, released in May 1996, added direct ODBC links as well.
Butler suffered from performance problems due to the single-user nature of the Mac OS. In particular, file access was single-threaded and multitasking was coordinated by the applications, not the operating system.