Pentaho Release a 'Major Step' in Battle Between Open-Source and Proprietary Business Intelligence (BI)
Earlier this month Pentaho and partners released version 1.0 of olap4j, a major step in the battle between between open-source and proprietary business intelligence (BI)
Posted by Killian McAleese, 27th April 2011
In many ways this collaboration involving Pentaho typifies some of the advantages of open source over proprietary software, as the agile business intelligence corporation continues the fight for interoperability and open standards.
The olap4j open Java API is an extension to the existing Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) 4.0 specification, which is the industry standard for connecting Java with a number of databases.
Application programming interface (API) is a set of rules which facilitates communication between different software programmes.
Advantages of olap4j
olap4j is the first open Java OLAP model which is used in complex database querying, reporting and hierarchical, multidimensional storage of data.
The big difference, according to a statement from the project, between olap4j and proprietary OLAP APIs is that whereas the latter are designed to be compatible with specific OLAP servers, “olap4j 1.0 provides a stable and consistent means to integrate with any backend OLAP server that supports the standard.”
It thus enables developers to create an OLAP application in one server and quickly and easily switch to another.
An added advantage to olap4j is its accessibility: Java software developers will be familiar with services such as connection pools, driver management and directory services from previous database programming experience and should pick the new system up with relative ease.
The Future
At Open Plus we'll be watching developments carefully. We certainly think this is a great development from Pentaho, with CEO Andrew Sykes calling it a 'major step' for open source business intelligence. Time, and ultimately the number of vendors and major players who get on board and support it, will tell.
But early signs are good, and the list of collaborators already includes SQL Power Group, Jedox, Matrix CPM Solutions, Saiku, and Aschauer EDV GmbH.
Open Plus and Pentaho
Find out about our Pentaho Business Intelligence support and consulting services on our Pentaho Business Intelligence page or on our Open-Source IT solutions page.
Related News
Pentaho BI Suite Enterprise Edition 3.8 in Released22nd March 2011
'Exciting Times' as ECM and BPM Integrate in Open-Source Bliss26th April 2011
First Open Java API for OLAP Available (from Application Development Trends) 12th April 2011
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