Ruby developers need databases too.
This week, cloud database vendor Xeround is extending its platform with an integration to Heroku. Heroku is a leading Ruby development platform that was recently acquired by Salesforce.com in a $212 million deal.
Xeround CEO Razi Sharir told InternetNews.com that his company is trying to connect two very interesting worlds.
“Heroku represents the fresh and young Ruby language and Xeround represents the modern cloud implementation of the same-old, same-old MySQL database with newer capabilities,” Sharir said. “Together the two enable any developer out there to develop in a very straightforward and simplistic manner.”
Sharir said the new Xeround Heroku integration enables developers to have both development and database access in a single graphical user interface.
The Xeround cloud database platform leverages components of the open source MySQL database with Xeround’s own proprietary components that expand the elasticity of the database.
“We have implemented an automated way for a developer to register and create a database in a single click,” Sharir said. “So if you’re a Ruby developer on Heroku, there is a drag and drop activity you need to do get your database running.”
He added that behind the scenes, Xeround provides the entire database infrastructure. Xeround already has deployment options for Amazon’s EC2. The Heroku integration goes beyond that with the GUI interface for Ruby devs to build and deploy the database.
From a provisioning perspective, Heroku users don’t need to directly interact with Xeround either.
“There is a whole add-on model at Heroku where tools can be applied within their online IDE environment,” Sharir said. “Users don’t need to do any additional registration beyond what they need to be on Heroku, so they don’t have any direct relationship with us, we’re just behind the scenes.”
Heroku is owned by Salesforce.com, which also runs the Database.com service. Sharir doesn’t see Database.com as a competitor to Xeround for a number of reasons.
“Database.com is not a pure native database that can be extended to anybody that wants it,” Sharir said. “I’d say it’s more of a limited data as a service offering, rather than a database as a service.”
Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.