On China's Database Development: Demand-Driven Innovation, Value Validated by Practice

Recently, at the 25th China International Software Expo · China Database Industry Summit, Li Zhanhuai, Director of the Database Committee of the China Computer Federation (CCF) and Professor at Northwestern Polytechnical University, delivered a keynote speech titled “Demand-Driven Innovation, Value Validated by Practice – The Development and Evolution of Database Technology”. By reviewing the history of database technology, he explained that database management systems were born out of application needs, emphasizing that only technologies and products that have been proven through practice and demonstrated value can achieve lasting development.

At the beginning of his speech, Professor Li first introduced the origin of databases. He mentioned that the term ‘DataBase’ was first used by the System Development Corporation in the 1960s when developing data systems for U.S. naval bases. Broken down, a database is a base for storing and managing data.

In the early 1960s, as computer performance further improved, database management systems emerged to meet the need for shared data in practical applications. The earliest Integrated Data Store (IDS) laid the foundation for network databases. In 1970, IBM researcher Edgar F. Codd published the paper ‘A Relational Model of Data for Large Shared Data Banks’, introducing the concept of the relational data model. Subsequently, database systems such as System R, Ingres, and Oracle were developed, putting this theory into practice.

During the development of System R, Jim Gray and others proposed the concept of transactions while considering how to ensure database consistency. A transaction treats a group of related database operations as a single atomic unit: either all succeed, or all fail. As long as each transaction is consistent, the database remains consistent.
Li pointed out that the concept of transactions is a direct reflection of real-world business scenarios. By deeply analyzing these real-world scenarios, the consistency problem was solved, powerfully proving that innovation comes from reality.

As application demands continued to grow and hardware environments steadily improved, columnar storage, NoSQL column-family databases, graph databases, and document databases emerged one after another, leading to a diversification of database technologies. Significant progress has also been made in new areas such as distributed databases, cloud-native databases, and database system architectures.

Li Zhanhuai briefly reviewed the development history of China's database industry and commented on the current state of domestic database development. He noted that the Chinese database market is currently witnessing high enthusiasm for R&D, with over 200 Chinese enterprises engaged in database product development. Technical capabilities have improved significantly, with architectures and key technologies largely on par with mainstream international systems, and some areas showing innovation or unique features. The talent pool is growing rapidly, producing many leading experts in fundamental research and system development, as well as a large number of database management system developers. However, challenges remain, such as insufficient product stability, difficulties in seamless replacement, and incomplete ecosystems.

In response to the opportunities and challenges facing China's database industry, Li called on Chinese database companies to identify pain points and take targeted measures; strengthen internal capabilities and shore up weaknesses; adopt a multi-pronged approach to build ecosystems; and address diverse demands with diverse products.

In closing, Li emphasized that an excellent system is the result of ‘systematic effort’, and every effort deserves respect. As a core foundational software for digital transformation and development strategies, with the support of national policies and the continuous innovation and joint efforts of leading Chinese database companies, industry customers, partners, and developers, the database industry will certainly break through barriers and forge an independent development path for China's database industry.