US Linux firm Gupta Technologies has released an embedded Linux database that it claims will allow easy transition of applications from a Microsoft Windows environment to the Linux platform.

The company said that independent software vendors (ISVs) and value-add resellers (VARs) adopting version 9.0 of its embedded relational database, SQLBase, would be able to invisibly and seamlessly embed the database into business applications they are developing.

It added that developers using the database would also be free from complex licensing conditions, installation problems and complex technical support issues.

Charles Stevenson, chief technology officer at Gupta, said in a statement: "An existing customer can simply install the SQLBase engine, copy over the database files from a Microsoft Windows environment, and have their solution up and running in just a few hours.

"This provides a whole new market for our ISVs and VARs, while allowing corporate customers to reduce costs and take advantage of the reliability of Linux on the server side."

Gupta offers a standard version and an encrypted version of the database.

"This release of SQLBase gives our customers the ability to offer solutions on the Linux platform with little or no effort," added Stevenson.

A trial version of SQLBase 9.0 is now available for download from the Gupta website.