Back in the day, there were four essential apps every computer user installed to their computer; a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation/graphics, and a database. The idea was that when one of the first three programs couldn't do a job, you could knock up something simple in the database app to fit a particular business need. But, over the years, many of those niches were filled with commercial applications and the database applications we created became more complex. Over that time, FileMaker evolved to help people create increasingly complex business apps. Now at Version 17, the FileMaker software family simplifies the process of creating complex apps that are ready for the mobile world.

During the Oracle OpenWorld keynote address, Oracle's Chairman and CTO Larry Ellison unveiled the latest version of the company's flagship database. Ellison says the new Oracle Autonomous Database Cloud is the world’s first 100% self-driving autonomous database. It can defend itself against cyber-attacks and automatically upgrade, patch and tune itself while running.

DynamoDB is Amazon’s database platform for those applications where you need a database but aren’t interested in setting up a server and all the other rigmarole that goes with it. DynamoDB uses a provisioned capacity model. You set the amount of read and write capacity required by your applications and change provisioning for your table with an API call or button click in the AWS Management Console. Now, DynamoDB has new settings that will auto scale as your needs change.

A critical vulnerability has been discovered that lets attackers gain root access through compromised MySQL-based database systems. It affects MySQL, MariaDB and PerconaDB which are all immensely popular with organisations big and small. Here's what you need to know about this privilege escalation bug.

Databases underlie most other applications, so it's no surprise that database-as-a-service options are becoming more common. But if you're thinking of rolling out databases in a cloud environment or consuming them as a service, there are some important caveats to bear in mind.

Instead of bloating his system with a fancy information gathering tool, reader Scott decided to take it really old-school—he created a batch file database to store frequently accessed information.

Online productivity suite Zoho has rolled out a mobile version of its Creator webapp , which can make both basic databases and help forge customised interfaces and applications to use them. As the somewhat (intentionally?) cheesy promotional video shows, It could be useful for adding to office or personal projects and websites on the go, or for pulling up and presenting information from a non-sensitive database. Like other Zoho applications, Creator is free to use but requires an account sign-up.

Zoho Creator Mobile