Gemstone Database Management System
Encyclopedia
GemStone is a proprietary application framework
that was first available for Smalltalk
as an object database
.
GemStone Systems was founded in 1982 as Servio Logic, and then became GemStone Systems, Inc in 1995. GemStone developed its first prototype in 1982, and shipped its first product in 1986. The engineering group resides in Beaverton, Oregon
. Three of the original co-founding engineers, Bob Bretl, Allen Otis and Monty Williams, have been with the company since its inception.
GemStone's owners pioneered implementing distributed computing
in business systems. Many information system features now associated with Java EE were implemented earlier in GemStone. GemStone and VisualWave were an early web application
server platform (VisualWave and VisualWorks
are now owned by Cincom
.) GemStone played an important sponsorship role in the Smalltalk Industry Council at the time when IBM
was backing VisualAge Smalltalk (VA is now at Instantiations). After a major transition, GemStone for Smalltalk continues as "GemStone/S" and various C++
and Java products for scalable, multi-tier distributed systems. GemStone Systems, Inc. now develops and markets GemFire, which is notable for CEP (complex event processing
), Event Stream Processing
, data virtualization and distributed caching.
Gemstone builds on the Smalltalk programming language. Although Gemstone isn't often mentioned in print, GemStone systems serve as mission-critical applications even though many computing industry business publications focus attention on other ecosystems and languages, such as Java
or C# for Microsoft .NET for new development. GemStone frameworks still see some interest for web service
s and service-oriented architecture
s.
A recent revival of interest in Smalltalk has occurred as a result of its use to generate Javascript for e-commerce web pages or in web application framework
s such as the Seaside web framework
. Systems based on object database
s are not as common as those based on ORM or Object-relational mapping
frameworks such as TopLink
or Hibernate
. In the area of web application frameworks, JBoss
and BEA Weblogic are somewhat analogous to GemStone.
On May 6, 2010, SpringSource
, a division of VMware
, announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire GemStone.
Application framework
In computer programming, an application framework consists of a software framework used by software developers to implement the standard structure of an application for a specific development environment ....
that was first available for Smalltalk
Smalltalk
Smalltalk is an object-oriented, dynamically typed, reflective programming language. Smalltalk was created as the language to underpin the "new world" of computing exemplified by "human–computer symbiosis." It was designed and created in part for educational use, more so for constructionist...
as an object database
Object database
An object database is a database management system in which information is represented in the form of objects as used in object-oriented programming...
.
GemStone Systems was founded in 1982 as Servio Logic, and then became GemStone Systems, Inc in 1995. GemStone developed its first prototype in 1982, and shipped its first product in 1986. The engineering group resides in Beaverton, Oregon
Beaverton, Oregon
Beaverton is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, seven miles west of Portland in the Tualatin River Valley.As of the 2010 census, the population is 90,267. This makes it the second-largest city in the county and Oregon's sixth-largest city...
. Three of the original co-founding engineers, Bob Bretl, Allen Otis and Monty Williams, have been with the company since its inception.
GemStone's owners pioneered implementing distributed computing
Distributed computing
Distributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems. A distributed system consists of multiple autonomous computers that communicate through a computer network. The computers interact with each other in order to achieve a common goal...
in business systems. Many information system features now associated with Java EE were implemented earlier in GemStone. GemStone and VisualWave were an early web application
Web application
A web application is an application that is accessed over a network such as the Internet or an intranet. The term may also mean a computer software application that is coded in a browser-supported language and reliant on a common web browser to render the application executable.Web applications are...
server platform (VisualWave and VisualWorks
VisualWorks
VisualWorks is a cross-platform implementation of the Smalltalk language. It is implemented as a development system based on "images", which are dynamic collections of software objects, each contained in a system image....
are now owned by Cincom
Cincom
Cincom Systems is a privately held, multinational, computer technology corporation founded in 1968 by Tom Nies, Tom Richley and Claude Bogardus....
.) GemStone played an important sponsorship role in the Smalltalk Industry Council at the time when IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
was backing VisualAge Smalltalk (VA is now at Instantiations). After a major transition, GemStone for Smalltalk continues as "GemStone/S" and various C++
C++
C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
and Java products for scalable, multi-tier distributed systems. GemStone Systems, Inc. now develops and markets GemFire, which is notable for CEP (complex event processing
Complex Event Processing
Complex event processing consists of processing many events happening across all the layers of an organization, identifying the most meaningful events within the event cloud, analyzing their impact, and taking subsequent action in real time....
), Event Stream Processing
Event Stream Processing
Event stream processing, or ESP, is a set of technologies designed to assist the construction of event-driven information systems. ESP technologies include event visualization, event databases, event-driven middleware, and event processing languages, or complex event processing...
, data virtualization and distributed caching.
Gemstone builds on the Smalltalk programming language. Although Gemstone isn't often mentioned in print, GemStone systems serve as mission-critical applications even though many computing industry business publications focus attention on other ecosystems and languages, such as Java
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
or C# for Microsoft .NET for new development. GemStone frameworks still see some interest for web service
Web service
A Web service is a method of communication between two electronic devices over the web.The W3C defines a "Web service" as "a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network". It has an interface described in a machine-processable format...
s and service-oriented architecture
Service-oriented architecture
In software engineering, a Service-Oriented Architecture is a set of principles and methodologies for designing and developing software in the form of interoperable services. These services are well-defined business functionalities that are built as software components that can be reused for...
s.
A recent revival of interest in Smalltalk has occurred as a result of its use to generate Javascript for e-commerce web pages or in web application framework
Web application framework
A web application framework is a software framework that is designed to support the development of dynamic websites, web applications and web services. The framework aims to alleviate the overhead associated with common activities performed in Web development...
s such as the Seaside web framework
Seaside web framework
Seaside is a free and open source web application framework for developing web applications in Smalltalk.Seaside provides a component architecture in which web pages are built as trees of individual, stateful components, each encapsulating a small portion of a page. Seaside uses continuations to...
. Systems based on object database
Object database
An object database is a database management system in which information is represented in the form of objects as used in object-oriented programming...
s are not as common as those based on ORM or Object-relational mapping
Object-relational mapping
Object-relational mapping in computer software is a programming technique for converting data between incompatible type systems in object-oriented programming languages. This creates, in effect, a "virtual object database" that can be used from within the programming language...
frameworks such as TopLink
TopLink
In computing, TopLink is an object-relational mapping package for Java developers. It provides a framework for storing Java objects in a relational database or for converting Java objects to XML documents....
or Hibernate
Hibernate (Java)
Hibernate is an object-relational mapping library for the Java language, providing a framework for mapping an object-oriented domain model to a traditional relational database...
. In the area of web application frameworks, JBoss
JBoss
JBoss Application Server is an open-source Java EE-based application server. An important distinction for this class of software is that it not only implements a server that runs on Java, but it actually implements the Java EE part of Java...
and BEA Weblogic are somewhat analogous to GemStone.
On May 6, 2010, SpringSource
SpringSource
SpringSource is a division of VMware that provides a suite of software products that accelerate the entire enterprise Java application life cycle of build, run, and manage. SpringSource employs open source leaders who created and drive innovation for Spring, a programming model for enterprise Java...
, a division of VMware
VMware
VMware, Inc. is a company providing virtualization software founded in 1998 and based in Palo Alto, California, USA. The company was acquired by EMC Corporation in 2004, and operates as a separate software subsidiary ....
, announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire GemStone.