SQL databases with in-memory column stores, NoSQL with query languages; it looks like the two schools of database design have begun to merge.

It is the basis for major database server applications from vendors like Oracle, Microsoft, and IBM, and there are embedded versions available from many other software vendors.

In fact, in a recent survey by Evans Data, over 50 percent of developers in the emerging markets of China, India, Eastern Europe, and Latin America use Microsoft's SQL Server, compared to 46 ...