Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

HSQLDB VS DuckDB

Compare HSQLDB VS DuckDB and see what are their differences

HSQLDB logo HSQLDB

hsqldb: Full-featured 100% Java ORDBMS

DuckDB logo DuckDB

DuckDB is an in-process SQL OLAP database management system
  • HSQLDB Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-26
  • DuckDB Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-18

HSQLDB features and specs

  • Lightweight
    HSQLDB is a lightweight database solution, making it easy to embed in Java applications without the overhead of larger database systems.
  • In-Memory Operation
    It supports in-memory tables which provides extremely fast processing for applications where data persistence is not required.
  • Rich SQL Support
    HSQLDB offers a broad range of SQL syntax and functions, providing a robust querying capability, including stored procedures, triggers, and views.
  • Highly Compatible
    Designed around the SQL-92 standard, ensuring compatibility with other SQL databases and making it easier for developers to transition.
  • Open Source
    Distributed under a BSD license, it is free to use and modify, which is ideal for organizations looking for a cost-effective database solution.
  • Multi-Platform
    Being Java-based, HSQLDB is inherently cross-platform and can be run on any system that supports Java.

Possible disadvantages of HSQLDB

  • Limited Scalability
    Not designed for very large databases or high-volume transactional systems, thus not suitable for applications requiring significant scalability.
  • Basic Management Tools
    HSQLDB's toolset for database management and administration is less comprehensive than those of major relational database systems.
  • Concurrency Limitations
    It has limited support for concurrent access compared to more robust database management systems, impacting performance in multi-user environments.
  • Lesser Known
    HSQLDB is not as widely adopted or as heavily marketed as some alternative database solutions, which might result in a smaller community for support and resources.
  • Limited Ecosystem
    There is a smaller ecosystem of third-party tools and extensions available for HSQLDB compared to more popular database systems like MySQL or PostgreSQL.

DuckDB features and specs

  • Lightweight
    DuckDB is a lightweight database that is easy to install and use without requiring a separate server process.
  • In-Memory Processing
    It supports efficient in-memory execution, which makes it suitable for analytical queries that require quick data processing.
  • Columnar Storage
    DuckDB uses a columnar storage format that optimizes for analytical workloads by improving read performance for large datasets.
  • Integration with Data Science Tools
    The database integrates well with popular data science tools and libraries such as Pandas, R, and Jupyter Notebooks.
  • SQL Support
    DuckDB offers full support for SQL, allowing users to leverage their existing SQL knowledge without having to learn new query languages.
  • Open Source
    DuckDB is open-source, enabling users to inspect the code, contribute to its development, and use it without licensing costs.

Possible disadvantages of DuckDB

  • Limited Scalability
    DuckDB is optimized for single-node operations, which may not be suitable for scaling out to large, distributed data workloads.
  • Relatively New
    As a newer database system, DuckDB might lack some features and optimizations found in more mature database systems.
  • Lack of Advanced Features
    DuckDB may not support some advanced database management features like complex transactions and user permissions found in other database systems.
  • Community and Support
    Being a less mature project, it might not have as large a community or extensive documentation and support as other established database systems.
  • Limited Distributed Processing
    DuckDB currently focuses more on local data processing and may not be the best choice for applications needing distributed computing capabilities.

HSQLDB videos

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

Add video

DuckDB videos

DuckDB An Embeddable Analytical Database

More videos:

  • Review - DuckDB: Hi-performance SQL queries on pandas dataframe (Python)
  • Review - DuckDB An Embeddable Analytical Database

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to HSQLDB and DuckDB)
Databases
53 53%
47% 47
NoSQL Databases
100 100%
0% 0
Big Data
0 0%
100% 100
Data Integration
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using HSQLDB and DuckDB. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, DuckDB should be more popular than HSQLDB. It has been mentiond 37 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.

HSQLDB mentions (5)

  • Huly โ€“ Open-Source All-in-One Project Management Platform
    If you need a database that you can embed in Java, have a look at: H2: https://www.h2database.com/html/main.html HSQLDB: https://hsqldb.org/ Apache Derby: https://db.apache.org/derby/ Though those would certainly be a bit niche approaches, so you'll find that there are fewer examples of using either online. - Source: Hacker News / 12 months ago
  • From BotFather to 'Hello World'
    Implementing a database is out of scope for this guide, however, several guides are available online for simple embedded open source software solutions like SQLite, HyperSQL, Derby, and many more. - Source: dev.to / almost 3 years ago
  • what book does the university of the people use to teach computer systems?
    Database I and II use a LOT of books (with the premeditated intent to drown you) here is the list from DB2 for example:Sharma, N., Perniu, L., Chong, R.F., Iyer, A., Nandan, C., Mitea, A.C., Nonvinkere, M., & Danubianu, M. (2010). Database Fundamentals (1st ed.). Markham, ON: IBM Corporation.Silberschatz, A., Korth, H.F., & Sudarshan, S. (2001). Database System Concepts (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.Din,... Source: about 3 years ago
  • I have to use libre base to merge 2 tables into a report and I don't know how
    Base uses hsqldb, http://hsqldb.org/, in their documentation you can find examples of SQL statements. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • Trying to scrape a subscription study book
    A capturing proxy such as OWASP ZAP will save every byte into a HyperSQL database, although it can be a PITA to deal with the certs. Source: almost 4 years ago

DuckDB mentions (37)

  • From OLTP to OLAP: Streaming Databases into MotherDuck with Estuary
    DuckDB is an open source analytical database designed with a clear goal: to make complex queries fast and simple without heavy infrastructure. Instead of being a traditional client-server database, DuckDB is embedded. It runs inside the host process, which reduces overhead and makes it easy to integrate directly into applications, notebooks, or scripts. Several features stand out:. - Source: dev.to / 8 days ago
  • DuckDB + Iceberg: The ultimate synergy
    Apache Iceberg and DuckDB have established themselves as key players in data architecture landscape. With DuckDB 1.4's native support for Iceberg writes, combined with Apache Polaris and MinIO, this promising stack offers efficiency, scalability, and flexibility. - Source: dev.to / 14 days ago
  • DuckDB on AWS Lambda: The Easy Way with Layers
    It seemed like the perfect opportunity to explore DuckDB, an in-process analytical database known for its efficiency and simplicity. - Source: dev.to / 23 days ago
  • From Go to Rust: Supercharging Our ClickHouse UDFs with Alloy
    While our Go-based implementation has served us well, we've been exploring whether Rustโ€”with its rapidly maturing Ethereum ecosystemโ€”could take us even further. The potential benefits are compelling: better performance, enhanced safety, and improved portability that could make it easier to bring these UDFs to other analytical engines like DataFusion or DuckDB. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Show HN: TextQuery โ€“ Query CSV, JSON, XLSX Files with SQL
    Have you seen duckdb? https://duckdb.org/ It's basically what you're building, but more low-level. Really cool, to be honest -- serves the same market too. Do you have any significant differentiator, other than charts? - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing HSQLDB and DuckDB, you can also consider the following products

CompactView - Viewer for Microsoftยฎ SQL Serverยฎ CE database files (sdf)

ClickHouse - ClickHouse is an open-source column-oriented database management system that allows generating analytical data reports in real time.

Microsoft SQL Server Compact - Bring Microsoft SQL Server 2017 to the platform of your choice. Use SQL Server 2017 on Windows, Linux, and Docker containers.

Apache Arrow - Apache Arrow is a cross-language development platform for in-memory data.

ObjectBox - ObjectBox empower edge computing with an edge device database and synchronization solution for Mobile & IoT. Store and sync data from edge to cloud.

Apache Parquet - Apache Parquet is a columnar storage format available to any project in the Hadoop ecosystem.