What is OpenQM?

There are many database products available.  Most of these follow the relational database model formalized into a set of rules (the Laws of Normalization) over thirty years ago.  Although these rules have stood the test of time and are still widely used, they impose some severe limitations on how data is represented and often do not reflect the real world that the data is trying to model. OpenQM uses the post-relational model in which the First Law of Normalization is discarded, allowing multiple values such as a list of products in an order to be stored together.  The result is a data model that is more closely related to the real world and has the opportunity of giving significant performance improvements by keeping associated data together rather than being forced to separate it in order to comply with an apparently arbitrary rule.  Whereas a fully normalized set of data can be represented in a post-relational database with no modification, the converse is not true. Combine the power of multivalued data with a natural language query processor for report generation and a simple but powerful programming language for application development and you have OpenQM.  A wide range of tools for use in both development and live environments further enhance the capabilities of this product. Post-relational database technology is not new.  It has been around for almost as long as the fully normalized relational model but has not received the recognition that it deserves due to low levels of advertising, lack of use within educational environments and, perhaps most importantly of all, high prices.  OpenQM aims to bring post-relational multivalue databases technology out of obscurity and into far wider use. For more detail on the principles of multivalue databases and OpenQM in particular, click on one of the options at the left of this page.

The History of OpenQM

OpenQM is the open source version of the QM Multivalue Database originally developed by Ladybridge Systems in 1993.  QM started life as an embedded database in applications where the end user did not need to know about the underlying data storage technology.  It was released in its own right in mid-2001 on Windows systems and extended to Linux in 2003 and FreeBSD in 2004.  The users of this product can be found worldwide and span a wide range of industries. The OpenQM product brings the Linux version of QM into the world of open source giving you the assurance that this software will not vanish from the market, that support will remain available at sensible prices, and enabling developers across the world to contribute new components to the product to help it grow to become the most widely used multivalue database in the world.  We expect that most users will have no interest in the source code and will simply purchase a pre-built, fully supported version as in the past.  For those users who want to add their own features to the software, the source is available for download and may be freely modified under the terms of the General Public Licence.  Of course, as soon as you do this we withdraw all support.  It's no longer our software that you are running. The Windows and FreeBSD versions of QM are not currently available in source form.  This may change in the future.  Meanwhile, Ladybridge Systems will continue to develop and support these alongside the Linux version.  There is no plan to withdraw them from the market.

How does OpenQM differ from the commercial version of QM?

It doesn't.  The OpenQM product on Linux is the same as the commercial QM product on the same platform, however, there are differences in how the two products are supported and what you can do with them. QM is a chargeable product.  You pay a licence fee to use this software.  It can be purchased from a distributor, a dealer (who will usually add his own software product on top of QM), or directly from Ladybridge Systems.  Whichever route you use for purchase, first line support will be provided by whoever you purchased the software from.  Beyond an initial period of free support, there may be charges involved.  These will be made clear to you before you make your purchase.  All users can obtain support directly from Ladybridge Systems if their distributor or dealer is unable to help. OpenQM is a free product.  You download the source and build this on your own Linux system.  It comes with absolutely no warranty and no support.