Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Datomic VS Datahike

Compare Datomic VS Datahike and see what are their differences

Datomic logo Datomic

The fully transactional, cloud-ready, distributed database

Datahike logo Datahike

A durable datalog database adaptable for distribution.
  • Datomic Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-14
  • Datahike Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-22

Datomic features and specs

  • Immutability
    Datomic employs an append-only data model where data is never overwritten but instead appended, ensuring historical data is always available and providing strong consistency.
  • Time Travel Queries
    Datomic allows you to query the database as of any point in time, facilitating auditing and debugging by allowing easy access to historical data states.
  • Rich Data Model
    Supports complex data types like maps and sets directly within its schema, providing a flexible way to represent data.
  • ACID Transactions
    Datomic supports fully ACID-compliant transactions, ensuring reliable and predictable database operations.
  • Scalability
    Separates storage and compute, allowing for horizontal scaling of read operations, making it suitable for handling large datasets.
  • Query Flexibility
    Offers a powerful query language that supports recursive queries, making it suitable for complex data retrieval needs.

Possible disadvantages of Datomic

  • Complexity
    The architecture of Datomic can be complex to understand and implement, particularly for teams unfamiliar with its design principles.
  • Cost
    Can be expensive to operate, especially in a cloud environment, where costs increase with the amount of data stored and the compute resources required.
  • Limited Write Throughput
    Due to its append-only design, Datomic can have limited write throughput, which may not be suitable for applications with heavy write requirements.
  • Closed Source
    Datomic is a proprietary database system, which may not appeal to organizations that prefer open-source solutions.
  • Learning Curve
    Requires a learning curve as its conceptual model and query language are different from traditional databases, potentially requiring additional training.
  • Dependency on AWS
    Relying on AWS ecosystem for the storage backend can limit choices for deployment environments, impacting flexibility.

Datahike features and specs

  • Persistence
    Datahike is a persistent database, which means that it retains data across sessions and can be relied upon for storage that survives application restarts.
  • Datalog queries
    Datahike supports Datalog queries, a powerful and expressive query language that is similar to Prolog, allowing for complex querying of data relationships.
  • Schema flexibility
    Datahike provides schema flexibility that allows developers to define and evolve their data models without needing to perform migrations. This can significantly speed up development.
  • Immutable data structures
    By utilizing immutable data structures, Datahike allows safe concurrent reads and writes, reducing the risk of data corruption and improving application stability.
  • Transactional support
    Datahike offers ACID-compliant transactions, ensuring data integrity and consistent state even in the face of concurrent operations.
  • Integration with Datomic API
    Datahike is designed to be compatible with the Datomic API, making it easier for developers familiar with Datomic to transition and leverage their knowledge.
  • Off-the-shelf scalability
    The architecture of Datahike is conducive to scaling horizontally, providing flexibility to handle growing amounts of data and user load.

Possible disadvantages of Datahike

  • Relatively new ecosystem
    Being a lesser-known and newer alternative compared to databases like Datomic, Datahike may have a smaller community and fewer resources like documentation and third-party integrations.
  • Performance limitations
    While Datahike is designed to be lightweight and flexible, it may not match the performance of more mature databases, especially in very high-load or high-volume scenarios.
  • Limited features
    Datahike may lack some advanced features present in other databases, such as sophisticated indexing or native support for certain types of analytics, which could be necessary for specific applications.
  • Java Virtual Machine (JVM) requirement
    As it runs on the JVM, Datahike requires a Java runtime environment, which might not be ideal or convenient for projects seeking to minimize dependencies or employ lightweight deployment strategies.

Datomic videos

KotlinConf 2018 - Datomic: The Most Innovative DB You've Never Heard Of by August Lilleaas

More videos:

  • Review - "Real-World Datomic: An Experience Report" by Craig Andera (2013)
  • Review - Rich Hickey on Datomic Ions, September 12, 2018

Datahike videos

No Datahike videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Datomic and Datahike)
Databases
54 54%
46% 46
Relational Databases
54 54%
46% 46
Network & Admin
53 53%
47% 47
NoSQL Databases
53 53%
47% 47

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Datahike seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 4 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Datomic mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Datomic yet. Tracking of Datomic recommendations started around Mar 2021.

Datahike mentions (4)

  • The Ten Rules of Schema Growth
    Datahike [0] provides similar functionality to datomic and is open source. It lacks some features however that Datomic does have [1]. [0]: https://github.com/replikativ/datahike. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Is Datomic right for my use case?
    You can also consider other durable Datalog options like datahike or datalevin which can work either as lib (SQLite style) or in a client-server setup; if you want to play with bi-temporality XTDB is a rock solid option with very good support and documentation. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Max Datom: Interactive Datomic Tutorial
    Oh really interesting. I didn't know about that. I was actually going threw the old Mendat code base and was considering using that. I would really like a pure Rust version of Datomic for embed use cases. There is all also Datahike, that is going in that direction too. It is maintained and actively developed. https://github.com/replikativ/datahike. - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
  • Show HN: Matrix-CRDT – real-time collaborative apps using Matrix as backend
    Having an Datomic like store backed by something like this. https://github.com/replikativ/datahike Is an Open Source variant of Datomic. Lambdaforge wants to eventually have this work with CRDTs. Using the Matrix ecosystem for this is quite interesting as it solves many problems for you already. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Datomic and Datahike, you can also consider the following products

MySQL - The world's most popular open source database

Valentina Server - Valentina Server is 3 in 1: Valentina DB Server / SQLite Server / Report Server

MongoDB - MongoDB (from "humongous") is a scalable, high-performance NoSQL database.

Oracle TimesTen - TimesTen is an in-memory, relational database management system with persistence and...

Matisse - Matisse is a post-relational SQL database.

PlanetScale - The last database you'll ever need. Go from idea to IPO.