Data Abstract | RemObjects Software

What is Data Abstract?

Data Abstract is a framework for building database-driven applications using the multi-tier data access model, for a variety of platforms. Simply put, if your application deals with any kind of database access, you owe it to yourself to see if Data Abstract is the right solution for you.

Watch a randomly selected video from RemObjects TV above (“The New Project Wizard for DA/Delphi”), or read our white papers to learn more on why to choose Data Abstract:

Any Platform You Like™

Because Data Abstract separates business logic on the middle tier from the code in your client application, it allows you to build rich client experiences for a wide variety of popular platforms. Whether targeting Windows or the Mac, Linux or the Web, or mobile devices such as iPhones or iPads, Data Abstract provides a client solution.

Hover over any of the platform choices below to find out more:


Hover over any of the icons above to learn more about the specific platform/tool combintion. Build Rich Windows Applications using .NET Microsoft .NET has arguably become the standard platform for developing Windows applications, and Data Abstract for .NET makes it easy to develop managed servers and clients for Windows using C#, Delphi Prism, Visual Basic .NET or any other CLR-compliant language. With DA LINQ, it provides a great way to write strongly typed client code that can run efficient queries against the server thanks to DA SQL. And thanks to Mono, your applications, especially servers, are easily deployed to other platforms, as well – without any extra development work. Read more about our Edition of Data Abstract for .NET Build Native Windows Applications using Delphi Use Data Abstract for Delphi to create native Win32 servers and client applications for Windows, leveraging the wide range of data access components available for the platform to connect to your database, and the VCL to create rich and fast client applications. And with the open source Free Pascal compiler, officially tested and supported for DA/Delphi, you can take your database applications to 64-bit Windows and to Linux. DA/Delphi will also support 64-bit Windows and Mac development from within the upcoming Delphi XE2. Read more about our Edition of Data Abstract for Delphi Build Mobile Clients for Windows Phone 7 using Silverlight Use Data Abstract for .NET and Silverlight to create rich and engaging applications for Windows Phone 7, Microsoft's new mobile phone platform. With DA LINQ, Data Abstract is the only technology that can offer rich, strongly typed query technology on the client side, making it easier and more efficient to have your application query just the data it needs. And because of its similarity to the desktop framework, you can share a lot of non-UI code between your phone and desktop apps. Read more about our Edition of Data Abstract for .NET Build Native Cocoa Clients for the Mac using Objective-C and Xcode Use Data Abstract for Xcode, the newest edition to the Data Abstract family, to build native Cocoa client applications for Apple's Mac OS X platform in Objective-C. Leverage DA SQL to dynamically query just the data you need. And because DA/Xcode comes with one library for both Mac and iOS, you can easily share large portions of non-UI application code between your Mac and iPhone/iPad applications, without writing everything twice. The all new Server Explorer and Schema Modeler for Mac allow you to create middle-tier servers for your app, hosted in Relativity Server, right from your Mac. Read more about our Edition of Data Abstract for Xcode Build Native Cocoa Clients for iPhone and iPad using Objective-C and Xcode Use Data Abstract for Xcode, the newest edition to the Data Abstract family, to build native Cocoa Touch client applications for Apple's iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices in Objective-C. Leverage DA SQL to dynamically query just the data you need. And because DA/Xcode comes with one library for both Mac and iOS, you can easily share large portions of non-UI application code between your Mac and iOS applications, without writing everything twice. The all new Server Explorer and Schema Modeler for Mac allows you to create middle-tier servers for app, hosted in Relativity Server, right from your Mac. Read more about our Edition of Data Abstract for Xcode Deploy your Servers to Linux Data Abstract for .NET is tested to be fully compatible with Mono, the cross-platform open source implementation of the .NET Framework. This allows you to write your servers using the .NET laguages and tools you love, and effortless deploy them to servers running Linux. All the technologies that make Data Abstract for .NET great – from schemas abstracting your database structure to DA SQL and DA LINQ for flexible data access – will work, regardless of which platform your deploy to. And of course you can use Data Abstract for .NET to build Linux-based or cross-platform client applications as well, for example using Gtk#. Read more about our Edition of Data Abstract for .NET Build Native Linux Applications using Free Pascal Use Data Abstract for Delphi with the open source Free Pascal compiler and Lazarus IDE to bring your native Delphi clients and servers to the Win64 and Linux platforms, now. Read more about our Edition of Data Abstract for Delphi Build Mobile Clients for the Android using MonoDroid Building on top of Mono for Android (a.k.a. MonoDroid) from Novell, Data Abstract for .NET lets you create rich mobile applications for Google's Android platform using the .NET languages and tools you know – including C# and Delphi Prism. All the rich Data Abstratc client technologies are at your disposal, allowing you to use DA SQL and DA LINQ for flexible data access. And because it's all based on the same Data Abstract for .NET library, you can share your non-UI code with the desktop, Windows Phone 7, and even with iOS applications built on MonoTouch. Read more about our Edition of Data Abstract for .NET Build Rich Managed Web Applications using Silverlight Data Abstract for .NET includes explicit support for Silverlight, allowing you to create rich web applications that run in the browser on Windows, the Mac and Linux but take adtantage of the .NET framework and are written in C#, Visual Basic.NET or Delphi Prism. Data Abstract for .NET's support for Silvelright includes the ability to use DA LINQ, making it the only data access technlogy for Silverlight with no-compromise LINQ support for querying data from the server. Read more about our Edition of Data Abstract for .NET Build Standards-based Data-driven Web Sites using JavaScript All Data Abstract servers, including Relativity Server, make it easy to publish data in forms that are easily accessible and consumable from JavaScript, allowing you to build rich standards-conform AJAX-style applications that can run in any browser and access data from your Data Abstract Servers. Data can be consumed using standards such as JSON, REST and OData, or by using our native JavaScript client library (currently in beta). JavaScript Client support is available in all three editions of Data Abstract.

See our complete Client and Server Platform Support Matrix.

Connect to Virtually Any Database Type

With its flexible driver architecture, Data Abstract allows your application to talk to virtually any relational database system available. Support for common database vendors is provided in the box both with Data Abstract for .NET and Delphi, as well as with Relativity Server. And hooking up new or more esoteric database types is easily done, and explained in our Wiki.

On .NET and in Relativity, any database with an ADO.NET provider can be used; on Delphi, a wide range of Data Access Components (DACs), including the most popular third party offerings, are supported out-of-the-box, and new drivers can be created by writing a simple class.

And because Data Abstract is a true multi-tier system, no database client libraries are required on the client, of course.

From the get-go Data Abstract can talk to any of these database types, among others:

Editions

Data Abstract is available in three separate editions, for developers using .NET/Mono, Apple Xcode or Delphi (as well as in bundles of two or all three editions, if desired).

Each edition is written and engineered from the ground up to fit into the surrounding framework and to be a fully native solution for the development platform in question. DA/.NET is a true .NET library that adheres to the guidelines and conventions of the .NET framework; DA/Xcode is a true Cocoa framework that integrates with the development environment familiar to Mac and iOS developers and DA/Delphi is a proper 100% Delphi VCL component suite.

At the same time, all three editions are built on the same principles and concepts, and knowledge of Data Abstract on one platform will seamlessly transfer to using Data Abstract for any of the others. And it goes without saying that all three editions of Data Abstract are designed to be 100% wire compatible, so clients written in one development tool can talk to servers written in any of the others, and vice versa.

Click on any of the three editions to learn more about the specific features and functionality provided:

Data Abstract for .NET

Develop managed clients and servers for Windows, Linux and the Mac using .NET and Mono.

Data Abstract for Xcode

Develop native clients for Mac and iPhone/iPad, using Objective-C and Xcode.

Data Abstract for Delphi

Develop native clients and servers for Windows and Linux, using Delphi and Free Pascal.

Read more about Data Abstract on our Wiki

The RemObjects Wiki is the central place for tech resources on all RemObjects products, including Data Abstract. In the wiki you will find regularly updated articles, glossaries and class documentation, and other useful information.

Technologies

Data Abstract consists of and provides a wide range of advanced technologies that make up the framework and set it apart from other database solutions on the market.

The grid below provides just a mere subset of the existing features and technologies that might be of interest to you. Click on any of the items to find out more: