Actian Zen v16 Product Information

This is a placeholder page for Actian Zen v16, expected some time in the summer of 2024. If you are an application developer using the Zen database product line and are interested in beta testing this new release, please contact us.

What's New In Zen v16?

We are still waiting on details, so check back here periodically.

Here is a list of the "prospective" new features in this release:

• New v16 File Format: A new file format is required to implement some of the other improvements and features.
• Long Keys: The new file format will support key values larger than 255 bytes in length.
• Microkernel Page Read-Ahead: By pre-reading expected pages, performance may be improved.
• Universal Triggers: A long-awaited feature, Universal Triggers will allow programs running at the Btrieve API layer to fire SQL-based triggers. Currently, operations with triggers are prevented from running at the Btrieve layer, so this will open up a whole new infrastructure for application developers!
• SQL Query Logging: Adding additional support for SQL query logging, including the ability to configure through ZenCC (and possibly DTI/DTO) and the ability to include or exclude FETCH statements (to reduce log size).
• Offline Rebuild: A faster rebuild function will be available that can be implemented while the database is offline or on a machine without an engine.
• Simple Replication: Expanding on the System Data V2 added in the previous release, Zen v16 will now support a simplified replication solution that can properly replicate insert and update operations to a secondary data set. (It will not replicate delete operations, and it is one-way only.) This is ideal for those running small data sets in remote environments that need to push data to a parent data set, so it can be very useful for IoT, POS, and other such solutions.
• : Actian is expected to release a new "subscription" licensing option.
• Developer Changes:
  • SQL LIKE Changes:Support for LIKE with ESCAPE, to allow you to change the escape character in strings from backslash to some other value.
  • SQL Large Column Binding: The ability to BIND to columns with data up to 2GB for INSERT/UPDATE operations (instead of the previous 64K limit).
  • .Net 8 Support: New ADO Driver supporting .Net 8
  • Nested JSON Objects: Support for nested JSON objects with the Step/Get Extended JSON query operator.
  • Btrieve 2 API Updates: Ability to retrueve SysData fields during bulk retrievals, improved examples and docs for BRestful and Document API's, and a Python package distributed via PyPl.
• Kafka: Sink and Source connector for Linux container-based deployment.
• Containerization: Linux containsers (X86, ARM64, ARM32) on DockerHub and SDK
• Licensing Changes: Actian is implementing several changes to the licensing:
  • Subscription Model: Users will be able to purchase an annual subscription (pricing TBD) that is expected to include all updates.
  • Perpetual Licensing: Perpetual licensing will still be available, but will no longer provide included patches and updates.
  • Product Maintenance: They are bring back the concept of annual software maintenance, for perpetual users who do want to receive updates and patches.

If you have additional questions about the product, please contact us!