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README update with alternatives (Addendum) #8

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README update with alternatives (Addendum)
May 28, 2026
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May 28, 2026
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76 changes: 76 additions & 0 deletions ALTERNATIVES.md
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# DynamoDB-Compatible Alternatives

Several open-source projects provide DynamoDB-compatible APIs on non-AWS infrastructure. This document compares **Phoenix-Adapters** with the two most prominent alternatives — **ScyllaDB Alternator** and **ExtendDB** — across architecture, API surface, scalability, and design philosophy, to help you pick the right tool for your workload.

> _Analysis as of **2026-05-27**._

## At a Glance

| | **Phoenix-Adapters** | **ScyllaDB Alternator** | **ExtendDB** |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Storage Engine** | Apache Phoenix / HBase | ScyllaDB (embedded) | PostgreSQL |
| **Language** | Java | C++ | Rust |
| **Deployment** | Stateless REST servers + HBase cluster | Built into every ScyllaDB node | Single binary + PostgreSQL |

## API Coverage

| Operation | Phoenix-Adapters | Alternator | ExtendDB |
|---|:---:|:---:|:---:|
| CreateTable / DeleteTable / DescribeTable / ListTables / UpdateTable | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| PutItem / GetItem / DeleteItem / UpdateItem | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Query / Scan | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| BatchGetItem / BatchWriteItem | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| TransactWriteItems / TransactGetItems | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| DynamoDB Streams | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| GSI / LSI | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| TTL | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Backup / Restore | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Import / Export | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Tagging | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |

## Expressions & Query Features

| Feature | Phoenix-Adapters | Alternator | ExtendDB |
|---|:---:|:---:|:---:|
| ConditionExpression | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| FilterExpression | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| ProjectionExpression | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| UpdateExpression (SET/REMOVE/ADD/DELETE) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| KeyConditionExpression | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Legacy APIs (Expected, AttributesToGet, ScanFilter) | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |

## Scalability & Operations

| | Phoenix-Adapters | Alternator | ExtendDB |
|----------------------------|-----------------------------|---------------------------------------|---|
| **Horizontal scale** | Petabytes (HBase regions) | Petabytes (ScyllaDB vnodes) | Single node server (PG vertical) |
| **Multi-instance safe** | ✅ Stateless tier | ✅ Native (peer-to-peer) | ❌ No coordination (documented gap) |
| **Write distribution** | Across HBase region servers | Across ScyllaDB nodes | Single PG writer |
| **Data Consistency** | Configurable (HBase) | Tunable (LOCAL_ONE / LOCAL_QUORUM) | Strong (PG default) |
| **Index Consistency** | Eventual GSI / Strong LSI | Eventual GSI / Strong LSI | Strong (PG default) |
| **Operational complexity** | Medium (HBase + Phoenix) | Medium (ScyllaDB cluster) | Low (binary + PG) |

## Design Philosophy

| | Phoenix-Adapters | Alternator | ExtendDB |
|---|----------------------------------|---|---|
| **Approach** | Many APIs → one backend | Embedded in storage engine | One API → pluggable backends |
| **Expression evaluation** | Server-side Phoenix functions | Native C++ in storage layer | In-process Rust evaluator |
| **Index implementation** | Phoenix Global Secondary Indexes | ScyllaDB materialized views | Separate PG tables |
| **Stream implementation** | Phoenix CDC | ScyllaDB CDC | Atomic with data writes (PG txn) |

## When to Use What

| Scenario | Best Fit |
|---|---|
| Need DynamoDB compat at petabyte scale on HBase infrastructure | **Phoenix-Adapters** |
| Already running ScyllaDB or want DDB API as a Cassandra alternative | **Alternator** |
| Need high API fidelity, transactions, or a lightweight local setup | **ExtendDB** |
| Must support legacy DynamoDB APIs (Expected, QueryFilter) | **Phoenix-Adapters** or **Alternator** |
| Need multi-item atomic transactions (TransactWriteItems) | **ExtendDB** (only option) |

## Links

- [Phoenix-Adapters](https://github.com/apache/phoenix-adapters) — DynamoDB on Phoenix/HBase
- [ScyllaDB Alternator](https://www.scylladb.com/technologies/dynamodb-api/) — DynamoDB embedded in ScyllaDB
- [ExtendDB](https://github.com/ExtendDB/extenddb) — DynamoDB on PostgreSQL (pluggable)
81 changes: 6 additions & 75 deletions README.md
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## DynamoDB-Compatible Alternatives

Several open-source projects provide DynamoDB-compatible APIs on non-AWS infrastructure. Here's how they compare:

> _Analysis as of **2026-05-27**._

### At a Glance

| | **Phoenix-Adapters** | **ScyllaDB Alternator** | **ExtendDB** |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Storage Engine** | Apache Phoenix / HBase | ScyllaDB (embedded) | PostgreSQL |
| **Language** | Java | C++ | Rust |
| **Deployment** | Stateless REST servers + HBase cluster | Built into every ScyllaDB node | Single binary + PostgreSQL |

### API Coverage

| Operation | Phoenix-Adapters | Alternator | ExtendDB |
|---|:---:|:---:|:---:|
| CreateTable / DeleteTable / DescribeTable / ListTables / UpdateTable | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| PutItem / GetItem / DeleteItem / UpdateItem | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Query / Scan | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| BatchGetItem / BatchWriteItem | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| TransactWriteItems / TransactGetItems | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| DynamoDB Streams | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| GSI / LSI | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| TTL | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Backup / Restore | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Import / Export | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Tagging | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| PartiQL | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |

### Expressions & Query Features

| Feature | Phoenix-Adapters | Alternator | ExtendDB |
|---|:---:|:---:|:---:|
| ConditionExpression | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| FilterExpression | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| ProjectionExpression | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| UpdateExpression (SET/REMOVE/ADD/DELETE) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| KeyConditionExpression | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Legacy APIs (Expected, AttributesToGet, ScanFilter) | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |

### Scalability & Operations

| | Phoenix-Adapters | Alternator | ExtendDB |
|----------------------------|-----------------------------|---------------------------------------|---|
| **Horizontal scale** | Petabytes (HBase regions) | Petabytes (ScyllaDB vnodes) | Single node server (PG vertical) |
| **Multi-instance safe** | ✅ Stateless tier | ✅ Native (peer-to-peer) | ❌ No coordination (documented gap) |
| **Write distribution** | Across HBase region servers | Across ScyllaDB nodes | Single PG writer |
| **Data Consistency** | Configurable (HBase) | Tunable (LOCAL_ONE / LOCAL_QUORUM) | Strong (PG default) |
| **Index Consistency** | Eventual GSI / Strong LSI | Eventual GSI / Strong LSI | Strong (PG default) |
| **Operational complexity** | Medium (HBase + Phoenix) | Medium (ScyllaDB cluster) | Low (binary + PG) |

### Design Philosophy

| | Phoenix-Adapters | Alternator | ExtendDB |
|---|----------------------------------|---|---|
| **Approach** | Many APIs → one backend | Embedded in storage engine | One API → pluggable backends |
| **Expression evaluation** | Server-side Phoenix functions | Native C++ in storage layer | In-process Rust evaluator |
| **Index implementation** | Phoenix Global Secondary Indexes | ScyllaDB materialized views | Separate PG tables |
| **Stream implementation** | Phoenix CDC | ScyllaDB CDC | Atomic with data writes (PG txn) |

### When to Use What

| Scenario | Best Fit |
|---|---|
| Need DynamoDB compat at petabyte scale on HBase infrastructure | **Phoenix-Adapters** |
| Already running ScyllaDB or want DDB API as a Cassandra alternative | **Alternator** |
| Need high API fidelity, transactions, or a lightweight local setup | **ExtendDB** |
| Must support legacy DynamoDB APIs (Expected, QueryFilter) | **Phoenix-Adapters** or **Alternator** |
| Need multi-item atomic transactions (TransactWriteItems) | **ExtendDB** (only option) |

### Links

- [Phoenix-Adapters](https://github.com/apache/phoenix-adapters) — DynamoDB on Phoenix/HBase
- [ScyllaDB Alternator](https://www.scylladb.com/technologies/dynamodb-api/) — DynamoDB embedded in ScyllaDB
- [ExtendDB](https://github.com/ExtendDB/extenddb) — DynamoDB on PostgreSQL (pluggable)
Phoenix-Adapters is one of several open-source projects that expose a DynamoDB-compatible API on non-AWS infrastructure. The two most prominent alternatives are:

- [**ScyllaDB Alternator**](https://www.scylladb.com/technologies/dynamodb-api/) — DynamoDB API embedded in ScyllaDB.
- [**ExtendDB**](https://github.com/ExtendDB/extenddb) — DynamoDB API on PostgreSQL.

📊 **For a detailed feature-by-feature comparison — API coverage, expressions, scalability, design philosophy, and a "when to use what" guide — see [ALTERNATIVES.md](ALTERNATIVES.md).**
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