What was the first database you used back in the day?

What was the first database you used back in the day?

DB2 though I was not a full time DBA. I managed the operational systems and security side of things and worked with the DBA's quite extensively. After that was mostly Oracle and mostly dealing with testing backups, managing disaster recovery procedures and of course make it go faster.

Looking back, there were so many other options that I missed

I don't think you really missed anything good. Modern open source databases drew from many lessons learned from the previous databases and in my opinion are much simpler, faster and pragmatic. Some of the more complex features of some of the older databases have since moved into the application stack.

Ashton-Tate dBase III

Borland Paradox

Getting into the more modern era... I don't remember exactly... my first job involved some DB/2, but I got exposed to Oracle and MySQL pretty early on as well.

One of my first jobs involved a company whose systems were written in custom Realia COBOL (for IBM PC, 64kb limits everywhere!), migrating functions out to dBase 3.

This started in 1986? and by 1990 they still hadn't ditched the old stuff but did a synchronization operation between the two database systems every night. It was sort of like replication but with a serial cable involved. Half the staff wouldn't give up the old interfaces.

> What was the first database you used back in the day?

Model 204 with COBOL. [0] M204 was a pre-relational database that used inverted indexes to locate rows. It sparked a life-long fascination with data.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_204

Informix running a Custom scheduling system on SCO Unix around 1993. Everyone still had WYSE terminal.

DEC's datatrieve. Also one of the earliest pieces of software that I can recall having easter eggs. "HELP ME" and "HELP WOMBAT" being two that I can remember.

MS-Access. It was fun to learn the relationships and queries.

AppleWorks on an Apple ][c

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AppleWorks

Maybe dBase III on DOS though I may have used something earlier on the Atari ST.

Sql lite if that counts :)

Sqlite