The upcoming release of SymmetricDS 3.5 includes some major new features, including some software that was previously only available to Pro subscribers. We’ve added new dialects for Sybase, support for Android mobile devices, and file synchronization. In addition, the license is changing from Lesser GPL to GPL, which we expect to allow larger contributions to the software.
Sybase ASE and ASA
After polling the community for adding a new dialect, the most requested relational database was Sybase. We’ve added support for Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE) 12.5 and newer, as well as Sybase Adaptive SQL Anywhere (ASA) 9.0.2 and newer. We expect the Sybase ASE dialect to be used with large central databases, with similar characteristics as the SQL-Server dialect with which it shares some common history. We expect the Sybase Anywhere dialect to be used with smaller servers and embedded databases. Both of these dialects are fully supported and added to our continuous integration testing going forward. We’re excited to offer an open source alternative to Mobilink for capturing changes and synchronizing data with Sybase databases.
Android support
Android mobile devices are now supported for change data capture and data loading. The native SQLite database included on Android made it an easy fit for using SymmetricDS. Mobile applications that use a database can include the SymmetricDS library to automatically keep the database in-sync with remote nodes. Developers can write to the device’s database and let SymmetricDS handle the problem of efficiently syncing data.
File Synchronization
Copy files and folders in both directions between nodes using familiar configuration with SymmetricDS. We’ve often heard that syncing the database for an application was only half of the equation, leaving the problem of replicating files between systems. Now we can offer a single solution to replicate both the database and the filesystem. Configure base directories to synchronize and use filtering to match the files and folders needed. Schedule the job to continuously synchronize or run periodically. Call scripts during file sync events to customize the behavior.
Switching from LGPL to GPL
To protect our investment in the software and guarantee the freedom for our users, we are switching the license to the GNU General Public License (GPL) version 3. SymmetricDS is open source software and JumpMind promises to always use a license on the core software that is a suitable Free Software Foundation (FSF) or Open Source Initiative (OSI) approved license. By switching to the GPL, we feel comfortable contributing more software to the core, knowing that any changes published to the software must include source code. As a show of this commitment, we are adding software to the core in this release that was previously only available to subscribers of SymmetricDS Pro. We see this change as a positive one that will benefit our open source users, but this change may have consequences on others. If the license change affects your ability to publish a software product, please contact us at JumpMind and we can provide options.
Coming Soon
Version 3.5 is stabilizing on the trunk now. You can grab a snapshot build and test drive it now. We’re expecting to make a release by the end of June.
