Amazon Open-Sources Babelfish for PostgreSQL To More Easily Move Away From Microsoft SQL

Amazon Web Services today announced the open-source Babelfish for PostgreSQL server project. Babelfish allows for applications written against Microsoft SQL Server to work seamlessly with PostgreSQL.

Babelfish interprets the Microsoft SQL Server wire protocol so applications written against that licensed Microsoft software instead can target the open-source and free-of-charge PostgreSQL database server. Babelfish supports the Tabular Data Stream (TDS) and also allows PostgreSQL to understand T-SQL.

While AWS is comfortable with where Babelfish is at for its open-sourcing today with good coverage of common Microsoft SQL Server functionality, they do acknowledge there isn't yet 100% coverage and there may be subtle differences in some areas.

Those interested can learn more about this open-source effort via the Amazon Web Services blog with today's post entitled Goodbye Microsoft SQL Server, Hello Babelfish as well as on the new open-source project site at BaelfishPG.org.