- DocumentdB began as an additional postgre module before evolving to an autonomous project
- The adoption of the Linux Foundation reports a new era for the databases of open documents
- Mongodb’s restrictive license decisions have created openings for the permissive approach to DocumentDB
For years, open source databases have been described as traditional relational systems or more recent NOSQL alternatives.
The emergence of DocumentDB, introduced for the first time by Microsoft and now adopted under the Linux Foundation, blurs this division.
By combining PostgreSql with storage focused on the document via extensions, DocumentDB is positioned both familiar to developers and disturbing existing NOSQL players.
PostgreSql extensions to a complete project
Its adoption under the permissive license of the MIT indicates a push for a wider community participation.
“It is great that Microsoft, AWS and others join their forces to work on DocumentDB, an open source implementation of a compatible mongoDB API in addition to postgresql,” said Bruce Momjian, founding member of the PostgreSql Core development team.
“We built DocumentDB with a simple objective: give developers a data database open with the flexibility of NOSQL and power, reliability, opening and postgre ecosystem,” said Kirill Gavrylyuk, vice-president of Microsoft.
DocumentdB started in 2024 as a pair of postgreSql additional modules to manage BSON data models and document requests.
In one year, the project extended to an autonomous database which always depends strongly on the reliability and the postgreSql ecosystem.
This double identity, the relational engine in part and the document store in part, makes DocumentDB attractive for developers looking for a common interface.
However, the skeptics point out that the superposition of the characteristics of the documents on PostgreSql does not scream the structural limits of relational systems.
The move to bring DocumentDB to the Linux Foundation attracted the support of Amazon Web Services, Google and others.
Their approval reports a rare moment of alignment among the main cloud suppliers, in particular given the license disputes that have fractured the database world in recent years.
“AWS is delighted to contribute to the Open Source DocumentDB project, now managed by the Linux Foundation,” said Adam Abrevaya, director of Amazon DocumentDB.
“It is great to see the DocumentdB project join the Linux Foundation, which guarantees customers and the community an open source option openly governed at their disposal,” said Sailesh Krishnam of engineering vice-president, Google Cloud.
However, criticism recall that the neutrality of suppliers has often been more symbolic than practical.
A project supported by hyperscalers can easily become shaped by their priorities, leaving the smallest contributors to wonder how much influence Community governance will really hold.
The adoption of DocumentDB can also be considered as a response to Mongodb’s decision to adopt restrictive license models.
By offering a permissive alternative, the Linux foundation hopes to push towards a more interoperable standard for the databases of documents.
Industry veterans argue that such a standard has been expected for a long time, but the moment is controversial.
However, Mongodb continues to dominate the market, and its defenders insist that the document capacity loop on PostgreSql does not replace a native design.
“DocumentdB is filling a critical gap in the ecosystem of the document database, attracting contributors, users and champions. It provides an open standard for applications based on documents,” said Jim Zemlin, Executive Director of Linux Foundation.
For developers working on Distros Linux or configure laptops for programming, DocumentDB may appear as another tool promising simplicity and opening.
Companies that envisage mobile workstations or SaaS integrations can also see the call in a standardized NOSQL option based on Postgres.
However, reality is less simple because the success depends on the technical merit and the resistance of the community to the inclination to the largest suppliers.
