Winter to Spring, Waiting for the Blossom — Reflections on Learning GBase 8a

By Zhang Yu

With the official enforcement of the Data Security Law of the People's Republic of China, the importance and security of data have drawn increasing attention from the government and all industries. As the foundation of future enterprise development, data assets are becoming ever more critical, with their value increasingly apparent. The Russia-Ukraine war, and the resulting suspension of services to Russia by foreign database and enterprise service providers, further remind us of the critical importance of making the database—the carrier of data—fully independent, controllable, and domestically developed.

In April this year, by chance, I started learning about GBase from General Data Technology and successfully passed the GBase 8s Database Administrator certification. With a desire to understand China’s homegrown database technologies, I again used my spare time in May to take the GBase 8a training. The training was divided into two phases: study and examination. It included 14 days of learning, two unit quizzes, and two certification exam attempts. The entire course was delivered online. The main training content covered the working principles of GBase 8a clusters, the basic concepts of MPP architecture, installation and management of clustered databases, adding, deleting, modifying, and querying data within the database, managing and assigning user permissions, querying system tables, and more.

After the 14-day online training, my takeaways are as follows:

First, I learned that after more than a decade of development, Chinese database software companies have made qualitative leaps in their capabilities, products, and technologies. They also have unique advantages in information security and providing localized services.

Second, I gained and reinforced database expertise. In the first phase, I mastered the core technology and architectural evolution of GBase 8a MPP Cluster, including installation and uninstallation. In the second phase, I reviewed SQL definition statements, data manipulation statements, query statements, and common system functions. Through hands-on practice, after-class exercises, and stage tests, I effectively reviewed the training content and reinforced key knowledge points.

Screenshots of hands-on exercises

Third, by joining the study and discussion group, while resolving doubts and questions, I fully experienced the enthusiasm across various industries for learning about Chinese databases and the current state of their application in China’s financial and telecommunications sectors. This filled me with confidence in the future development of homegrown databases. I believe that with the spread of industry adoption and the growth of the user base, China’s databases will only get better. I am willing to be part of this journey—to learn more, understand more, and contribute to the promotion and application of domestic database technologies.

These are some of my reflections from the learning process. I hope they can offer some help and inspiration, and that I will have the opportunity to apply what I have learned in real work, gaining a deeper appreciation for the beauty of the GBase 8a database.