我翻译的一篇文章：Interbase是如何出现的，欢迎批评指正

[Format_CIH]

Claudio Valderrama C.的Interbase unofficial site（www.cvalde.com）是一个介绍Interbase的非常好的站点，里面有很多关于Interbase的故事。但不知什么原因，这个站点消失了。为了不让这些有趣的资料永远消失，我利用以前的存档，将一些资料翻译出来，和大家共享。
第一篇资料是How did Interbase appear?（Interbase是如何出现的？）
故事中的两个人物需要介绍下：Jim Starkey是Interbase的创造者，而Ann Harrison是他的妻子，现在是Firebird的头，而Firebird是Interbase的开放源代码项目的名称。
故事由Ann Harrison讲述，这是很久以前的故事了。
InterBase是在浴室，位于美国马萨诸塞州格罗顿市芦苇草地大街27号铺着蓝色瓷砖的一个大浴室里诞生的。 透过这个浴室的窗户，望着外面的树木，Jim Starkey“找到了”后来变成Interbase的东西。
七十年代中期，为了有机会写一个关系数据库，Jim来到DEC。但当时的高人都认为只有网络数据库才能支持商业应用。这个误解在四年后才被澄清。在这四年中Jim设计并编写了Datatrieve，一个在平面文件和DBMS-32上运行的关系查询语言。Datatrieve用户需要更大的灵活性、更好的并发控制和原子事务。
DEC终于张开双臂欢迎关系技术时，Jim仍然在负责Datatrieve。所以另外一个小组开始了设计，后来这个产品成了Rdb。这个小组开始争辩什么是关系、什么是数据库。他们查阅大量文献，开始了热烈的讨论，讨论一致性的程度、谓词锁和遮蔽技术。但是他们却并没有开始编码。
Jim不耐烦了，自己开始摆弄起遮蔽（shadowing，不知如何翻译为好，希望大家斧正。译者）技术来。他认为这是可以提供重复读而不会阻碍更新的方法。然后，一天早上在洗澡的时候，他意识到遮蔽也可以用来防止更新冲突并取消失败的事务。在一次洗澡时，这个multi-generational database（多代数据库）诞生了。
Jim私下开始了数据库的研制工作，他称之为Jrd。DEC的管理层发现公司里有两个关系数据库项目，正式的项目和Jrd。数据库大战爆发了。
这段时间简直是黑暗年代，充满了互相残杀的政治手腕和火爆的email。最后Jim, Don DePalma和我决定，应该可以找到更好的办法。我们得知阿波罗计算机，当地的一个工作站公司，想要一个单独的数据库产品。阿波罗的管理层喜欢Jrd的模型。因此Jim搬到了二楼的空房间里，开始编写代码。初始投资只有$243.50，买了一把舒适的椅子，和两个文件柜，这两个文件柜支着一个门板，然后当一个桌子用。
谈判开始8个月以后，我们和阿波罗签订了合同，资金才开始流入。Don和我加入了，一起到了二楼的非常热的房间。Jim编写代码，Don写手册，我做其他所有事情。猫会在计算机上睡觉，机器上到处的是猫毛和碎屑，阿波罗的现场维修人员一周要来一次，用真空吸尘器打扫。
Dave Root离开了阿波罗，成了第四个创始人。毕竟每个公司都必须有一个健全的成年人。空房间装不下我们四个人，所以公司一直扩展到了阳台上。
然后我们有了客户和潜在的客户，还有了会议和邮件。客房变成了复印中心和收发室，客厅用来开会。我们都在厨房做饭在饭厅吃饭，咖啡壶放在主浴室旁边的水槽里。我们已经不是在家工作了，我们是在工作中生活。
那个冬天，车道简直变成了Saab全天候截击机使用的雪道，冰冷、弯曲，旁边还有一排排的树木。我们的第一个非阿波罗客户是二月份从加利福尼亚圣巴巴来的，他几乎是滑到前院的，几乎不能站直。但无论如何，他签订了合同。
Groton Database Systems（Groton数据库系统）搬出了家，搬进了一个办公房，在一个干洗店的上面。我得回了我的浴室。
Groton Database Systems是一个突发灵感起出来的名字。其灵感来自于我们怎么也找不到一个能通过商标检索的名字。我们是幼稚的新企业家，因此，每当想到一个名字，我们就问我们的律师“这个OK吗？”。后来我们才知道，正确的问法应该是：“如果我们用这个名字，你能给我们做辩护律师吗？”后来我们将名字改成了Interbase。这个改变是一个人建议的，这个人接电话的时候将我们的名字听成了“Rrrrotten Database Systems（腐烂的数据库系统）”。
我们这么费力在干吗？创造一个不会挡路的关系数据库。一个安装容易，需要很少甚至不用管理，而且可以在应用程序内部工作。我们都有网络数据库的经验：IDMS, Seed, DBMS-32。要使用网络数据库，你真得必须热爱微调、调整，学习，并且还要喜欢你的数据库。InterBase是给我们这些不愿如此辛苦的人用的，我们想做我们真正的工作。
多代体系结构- Jim发现的遮蔽技术，消除了绊倒其他数据库的问题。一个读取者可以创建一个巨大的、一致的报告，而同时其他读者可以继续更新同一批数据。事务回滚也很简单；甚至崩溃恢复也是自动的。
崩溃恢复非常重要，因为我们用InterBase来使公司运作，从记账、销售、到代码管理，所有的事情。停电非常普遍：因为线路过载，八月的暴风雨，或者绊在电线上偶然碰掉了机器的插头，数据恢复对我们和我们的任何扔和客户一样重要。
InterBase是个好产品，我们的大多数客户都非常高兴。公司增加到了七个人，房间也变成了两套，以前在干洗店上，现在在油炸圈饼店上面。我们的保险公司一点也不喜欢油炸圈饼店，但它的味道比干洗店要好得多。
这个地方有自己独特的魅力。有些地方，地板下陷地非常厉害。如果有人踏了进去就会吱吱响。没有一个拐角是圆的。我们的计算机太多了，当然老的计算机比今天的机器要大得多也热得多，因此我们一年到头的开着空调。春天和秋天计算机会被冻住，因此我们在附近准备了几个吹风机来将冰融化。
冬天过了一两个月后，煤气公司给我们送来了一个估计的账单，金额是$350。我们以前的账单是一到两美金，这是因为我们用计算机而不是煤气来加热房间。煤气公司认为我们在偷煤气。他们换了两次表，但读数仍然出奇的小。最后抄表人来到我们的办公室，承认计算机发出了大量的热。
我们总是要和购买部艰苦奋战，让账单兑现。因为我们的客户一般都是大公司，他们非常不习惯和小公司打交道。如果我们送出一个盒子，里面有一个购物清单，上面标着“支持更新”，那么有些公司就只能为支持更新付款。我真搞不清楚，这些公司怎么变通它们的规矩支付电话账单。
我们的一个客户是美国陆军服务的一个分部门，既不清是什么部门了。他们的程序员想要一个课程培训。我们在本地的旅馆租了一个会议室，并让我们打扮得看上去还像个样子。这两个人来了，用旅行支票，还是国外旅行支票为培训付款。他们不愿意谈论他们的应用程序，甚至不愿意谈论在给军队喂食中扮演了什么角色。可能这两者他们都没做过。
看上去还像个样子这件事我们不经常作，也做得不好。Don终于说服Jim，我们应该“为成功而穿着”：Dudley(DDL utility的简称), Burp(备份和恢复程序)，和Alice(all else(所有其他))等都不要再说了。有人要造访的时候，我们做了努力，但做得并不深入。有一个银行家来和我讨论我想安排的一项设备贷款。他精明的指出所有这些计算机，没有一个超过两年，“每一台都过时了”。哦，好了，还有其他银行。
支持是我们业务的关键部分；当一个公司购买了数据库时，它们的投资远比软件的价格要高得多。口碑相传是我们最好的广告，我们的工作就是帮助客户走向成功。大多数问题用电话就可以搞定。然而，加里福利亚的一家大航空航天公司出了问题，我们不能远程解决。
记录会从数据库里异常频繁地随机丢失。工程师非常确定不是他的程序的问题，他说可以拿他的性命打赌。Jim带着源代码包飞去了，开发了一个调试工具，将问题一直追溯到了一条删除语句。这个公司变成了一个主要客户，虽然它们的采购部的意见是：我们太小了，而且非常古怪。
今天可以开办一个象InterBase一样的公司吗？也许不能；开发关系数据库的公司就当然就更不行了。期望值增加了而价格却降下来了。我们可以在1986年将只有几个命令行工具的数据库卖上几千美元一份。今天，客户需要一套设计工具、分析工具、快速开发工具和管理工具，而且要有设计得很好的图形化用户界面。而且他们希望每份仅支付不到一百美元。
InterBase用自己的收入成长了五年，让我们在面对投资者之前获得了一些业务经验。虽然现在市场大了很多，但要引起足够客户的注意以避免饿死，需要的预算也增加了得多。从没有投资或者没有大的信托资金开始，在今天是不可能的。即使在那时，有金融资源的公司做的人仍然比自力更生的公司做得好。Sybase就是和Groton Database Systems差不多同时成立的，它有几千万的风险资金。他们在媒体上露的面多，迈出的软件业多。但我们有很多的乐趣。我想是因为运气吧。

[winkiky]

看E文？
头大了！！

[mynameis007]

多谢.....呵呵.

[Format_CIH]

原文也贴出来吧。
According to Ann Harrison, this is the tale from the ancient times:

InterBase started in the shower. Specifically in the blue-tiled walk-in shower at 297 Reedy Meadow Road, Groton, Massachusetts, USA. There, looking through the shower window into the woods, Jim Starkey had the "Eureka" that eventually became InterBase.

The chance to write a relational database drew Jim to DEC in the mid-seventies, but the prevailing wisdom said that only network databases could support commercial applications. That misconception took four years to dispel, during which Jim designed and wrote Datatrieve, a relational query language that ran on flat files and DBMS-32. Datatrieve users wanted more flexibility, better concurrency control, and atomic transactions.

When DEC finally embraced relational technology, Jim was still in charge of Datatrieve, so another group began designing what became Rdb. They debated the meaning of "relational" and the meaning of "database." They scoured the literature and held wonderful discussions about degrees of consistency and predicate locking and shadowing techniques. But they didn't start coding.

Jim got impatient, and began playing with shadowing, which he saw as a way to provide a repeatable read without blocking updates. Then, one morning in the shower, he realized that the shadows could be also prevent update conflicts and undo failed transactions. The multi-generational database revealed itself in that shower.

Intrigued, Jim began serious work on the database called jrd. DEC's management discovered that it had two relational database projects, the real one and jrd. The database wars broke out.

Those were dark years, full of internecine politics and flaming email. Jim, Don DePalma, and I decided there had to be a better way. We learned that Apollo Computer, a local workstation company, wanted a private-label database. Apollo's management liked the jrd model, so Jim moved into the second-floor spare room and started coding. The initial capitalization was $243.50 for a comfortable chair and two filing cabinets to hold up the door that served as a desk.

When Apollo contract was signed, eight months after we started negotiations, money started to flow in. Don and I joined Jim in the very very hot second-floor spare room. Jim coded; Don wrote the manuals; and I did some of everything. The cats slept on the computers, sprinkling cat hair and dander all through the machines. Apollo field service came by weekly to vacuum.

Dave Root left Apollo and became the fourth founder. Every company should include one sane adult. The four of us overflowed the spare room, so the company spilled out onto the balcony.

Then we began to have customers and potential customers, and meetings and mailings. The guestroom became the copy center and mailroom. The living room was for conferences. We all cooked in the kitchen and ate in the dining room. The coffeepot sat beside my sink in the master bath. We weren't working at home anymore, we were living at work.

That winter, the driveway was a luge run for Saabs, icy, twisty, and lined with trees. Our first non-Apollo customer arrived from Santa Barbara California in February and slid into the front yard, barely upright. He signed the contract anyway.

Groton Database Systems moved out of the house and into an office over a dry cleaner. I got my bathroom back.

"Groton Database Systems" is an inspired name, inspired by our failure to find any other name that passed trademark search. We were naive new entrepreneurs, so each time we thought of a name, we asked our lawyer "is this OK?" Later we learned that the right question is "can you defend us if we use this?" That sophistication let us change the name to InterBase, a change encouraged by the person who answered the phone "Rrrrotten Database Systems."

[Format_CIH]

第二部分原文
What were we trying to do? Build a relational database that didn't get in the way. One that was simple to install, required little or no administration, and would work inside applications. We all had experience with network databases: IDMS, Seed, DBMS-32. To use a network database, you really had to love tuning, tweaking, studying, and fondling your database. InterBase was for the rest of us, who want to get on with our real jobs.

The multi-generational architecture - Jim's shadowing Eureka - eliminated problems that other databases stumbled over. A reader could create a large, consistent report while others continued to update the same data. Transaction rollback was simple; even crash recovery was automatic.

Crash recovery was essential, because we ran the company on InterBase, from accounting, sales, code management, everything. Electrical failures were common: from overloaded circuits, from August thunderstorms, and from accidentally unplugging a machine by tripping over the power cord. Database recovery was as important to us as to any of our customers.

InterBase was a good product and most of our customers were very happy. The company grew to seven people and expanded into two more suites over the former dry cleaners, now a donut shop. Our insurance carrier didn't like the donut shop at all, but it smelled better than the cleaners.

The space had its own unique charm. In places, the floor sagged alarmingly, and creaked if anyone stepped on it. None of the corners was square. We had so many computers, and of course old computers were so much bigger and hotter than machines today, that we ran the air conditioners year round. In the spring and fall they'd ice up, so we kept a few hair dryers around to melt the ice so we could get cool again.

After a few winter months, the gas company sent us an estimated bill for $350. Our bills had been between one and two dollars because we heated the space with computers rather than gas. Mass Gas was convinced we were stealing from them. They replaced the meter twice, and still got absurdly low readings. Eventually the meter reader came up to our office agreed that the computers produced a lot of heat.

We fought with purchasing departments and accounts payable because our customers were generally large companies, unused to dealing with very small companies. Some could only pay for support renewal if we sent out a box with a bill of materials labelled "support renewal." I have no idea how those companies bent their rules to pay phone bills.

One of our customers was an obscure subsection of the US Army Food Service. Their programmers wanted a training course. We rented a conference room in a local hotel and made ourselves look presentable. The two men arrived, with payment for the course in traveler's checks, foreign traveler's checks. They wouldn't talk about their application or even what role they filled in feeding the Army. Probably none.

Looking presentable was not something we did often or well. Don eventually convinced Jim that our utilities should be "dressed for success": the names Dudley (for DDL utility), Burp (backup and restore program), and Alice (all else) had to go. When visitors were expected, we made an effort, but it didn't go very deep. A banker came by about an equipment loan I was trying to arrange. Some bright spark pointed out all these computers, none over two years old "and every one obsolete." Oh well, there were other banks.

Support was a critical part of our business; when a company buys a database, it invests much more than the cost of the software. Word of mouth was our best advertising, and we worked to help customers succeed. Most questions were resolved over the phone. Then a large California aerospace company had a problem we couldn't diagnose remotely.

Records disappeared from the database, randomly, but much too often. The engineer was sure it wasn't his program; he said he'd bet his life on it. Jim flew out with a source kit, built a debugging system, and traced the problem back to a delete statement. That company became a major customer, despite the opinion of their purchasing department that we were small and flaky.

Could a company like InterBase start today? Probably not; certainly not a company that built a relational database. Expectations rose as prices dropped. We were able to sell a database with a few command line tools for thousands of dollars a seat in 1986. Today, customers expect a suite of design tools, analysis tools, rad tools, and management tools, all with well-designed GUIs. And they expect to pay less that a hundred dollars a seat.

InterBase grew out of its own revenues for five years, giving us some business experience before we faced investors. Even though the market is much larger, getting the attention of enough customers to prevent starvation requires a large budget. Starting without investment -- or a big trust fund -- simply is not feasible today. Even then, companies with financial resources did better than bootstrap companies. Sybase was founded within days of Groton Database Systems with tens of millions in venture capital. They got more press and sold more software. But we had a lot of fun. Just lucky I guess.

[勉励前行]

看故事很有收益。
www.cvalde.com真的是上不去了

[烟波三千里人鬼五百年]

Format_CIH (小猪尾巴)是好同志！

[warton]

http://www.3asoft.com

[invalid]

好样的，我喜欢看故事！谢谢！

[gfh21cn]

确实是“故事”

[Format_CIH]

准备结贴了，送分，每人10分，还差3位