Re: [HACKERS] [Fwd: Re: First Major Open Source Database]

> "D'Arcy J.M. Cain" wrote:
> > 
> > Thus spake Lamar Owen
> > > [Ok, I've been in touch with the author of the 'First Major Open Source
> > > Database' article.  Here's what he wants to do.  Let me know what you
> > > think, and correct any misinformation I may have fed him.]
> > >  [...]
> > > - University Ingres, developed starting in 1977, qualifies for the
> > > 'First Major Open Source Database' honor. Ingres is the direct
> > > ancestor of PostgreSQL.
> > 
> > Not that it is so important but I think that Postgres was a different
> > project by the same person (Dr. Micheal Stonebraker) so it is probably
> > more accurate to call them siblings.
> 
> Hmmmm...  You may be right -- I wasn't there (in 1987 I was still a
> sophomore in college, and was still hacking my old Z80-based computer). 
> I was quoting Bruce's History of PostgreSQL document, which states:
> "PostgreSQL began as Ingres, developed at the University of California
> at
> Berkeley(1977-1985).  The Ingres code was  taken and enhanced  by
> Relational Technologies/Ingres Corporation, which produced one of the
> first commercially successful relational database servers.  (Ingres
> Corp. was later purchased by Computer Associates.)  Also at Berkeley,
> Michael Stonebraker lead a team to develop an object-relational database
> server
> called Postgres(1986-1994). "


> 
> Hmmm... On second read, that seems ambiguous.  Does anyone know if the
> first Postgres codebase included any Ingres code (the criterion for
> 'ancestry')? Or was Postgres (a play on words anyway -- Ingres used the
> QUEL language, others started using SEQUEL (later SQL), Postgres, being
> different, used POSTQUEL) a complete rewrite from the ground up?

It was purposely ambiguous.

It did not use any Ingres code, as told to me by Jolly, I think.  My
book has Ingres mentioned as an "ancestor" of Postgres.

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