News

RESTful API Spans NoSQL and SQL Big Data Calls

• By David Ramel
• August 28, 2014

As the SQL and NoSQL worlds continue to converge in the pursuit of comprehensive Big Data analytics solutions, a Silicon Valley start-up wants to provide a bridge between the two with RESTful APIs.

Espresso Logic announced a universal API that lets mobile and Web developers access SQL and NoSQL databases in one call without having to copy data across data stores. The Backend as a Service (BaaS) company's functionality works only with MongoDB NoSQL databases for now. On the relational side, it works with SQL Server, Azure SQL Database and Oracle.

While the exploding Big Data phenomenon centered on the Apache Hadoop ecosystem has traditionally used NoSQL databases to house all kinds of data from different sources, many tools and techniques have emerged to let relational data developers join the party as the market matures.

In contrast to straight analytical use cases, the company said its RESTful API can include security and business logic for read and write operations.

"Building mobile and Web applications or integrating with partner systems often requires data from multiple sources be combined, mixed, filtered and returned in a single request," said R. Paul Singh, CEO of Espresso Logic. "Our customers want more than a pass-through API. They want an API that enforces authentication, access control and business logic."

Espresso uses reactive programming-based logic to accelerate development. It provides a point-and-click interface to let developers "join" SQL and MongoDB data into a single RESTful API, or across separate MongoDB collections. In addition to business rules, unified authentication, such as LDAP, Azure Active Directory and Stormpath, and role-based endpoint access control can be utilized.

Last fall, the company, armed with $1.6 million in seed funding, announced what it claimed to be the first reactive logic programming-based database BaaS offering. In April, it followed up with a feature designed to let developers quickly build secure RESTful APIs for stored procedures.

Now available as a free trial, the company's service comes in a developer edition priced at $50 per month, and a production version starting at $500 per month.