>>>Let's not forget our Open-Source friends mySQL and PostgreSQL which are also free and can be used locally or on a dedicated server.
>>
>>IMO, MySQL has severe limitations which preclude it from any but the most simple of tasks. PostgreSQL would require either a TCP/IP connection to a Linux server containing PostgreSQL OR creating a Linux "window" on your WinXX installation (not dual boot) using the lastest verion(1.3.2) of Cygwin and installing Charles Wilson's Cygwin32 IPC package. Here is the URL explaining how to do this: http://people.freebsd.org/~kevlo/postgres/portNT.html
>>
>>You may or may not be successful. It depends if you want to be restricted to using the library versions that Cygwin and IPC require.
>>
>>You can use InterBase 6.0, which I believe is ansi92 complient. It is now free and Open Source (not GPL) for both Linux and Windows:
>>http://www.borland.com/about/press/2000/ib6.html
>>
>>Have fun!
>>JLK
>>
>>
>Hmmm.... it's actually kinda hard to tell whether or not Interbase 6 is still free. The open source links are still there, but then there is pricing for deployment.
>
>Do you have any idea how well Interbase stacks up against SQL Server? It might be a viable option for some of our clients.

It stacks up well. It just not as well marketed. IB6 doesn't allow UDFs though. What you can't do with it is deploy it bundled with your next 'killer app' for mass distribution. As I understand their OpenSource license, your client (or you) can download it and use it for his specific app without needing to pay a license fee. As the coder you can write the code for him to use it.