> Maybe that's only a problem for people on non-x86 CPUs then?
actually it's a problem for application developers. I cannot rely on a backend system with limitations like these. So I'll have to go back to the RDBMS backend or look for other nosql alternatives, but definitely mongoDB is off my list
The world runs on x86. You might have some legacy systems running SPARC or POWER, but those systems are unlikely to reside in MongoDB's target market anyway.
Arguing everyone else should ditch code that happens to not work on your pet architecture is a pretty self-centered worldview.
actually the number of ARM processors is growing, and not only in the mobile sector. There have been some efforts to bring ARM architecture into the server market. Also China is building its own MIPS-based supercomputer. Also the SPARC architecture is actually developing, although it's a pity to see it swallowed by Oracle. IBM is still shipping PowerPC servers.
besides, there are huge SPARC-only datacenters still running.
> There have been some efforts to bring ARM architecture into the server market.
None of which have really gone anywhere.
> China is building its own MIPS-based supercomputer.
You think a lot of supercomputers are going to be running Web-targeted NoSQL datastores?
> Also the SPARC architecture is actually developing
So its partisans have insisted for the past decade. The real world doesn't much care. Sun/Oracle was less than 2% total market share for servers in 2010, by the way -- and that includes their x86 sales.
> IBM is still shipping PowerPC servers.
How many? To whom? They had 13% market share in 2010, and they sell a lot more x86 servers than POWER.
> besides, there are huge SPARC-only datacenters still running.
There won't be much longer, and the ones that are mostly run legacy infrastructure.
There's not even a convincing case for 10% of new servers running not-x86. Greenfield systems don't care about not-x86. It's just irrelevant to pretty much everybody. There's no reason for the MongoDB guys to make it any sort of priority.
a thoughtful software designer would build an endian-neutral and memory-aligned architecture in the first place. In case of Mongo, the designers don't seem to really understand how the computer hardware operates on the low level.
for the rest of your points, neither you nor me can tell what would be the most selling server architecture in 3 years. Do you intend to design software with unpredictable lifespan? I don't.
actually it's a problem for application developers. I cannot rely on a backend system with limitations like these. So I'll have to go back to the RDBMS backend or look for other nosql alternatives, but definitely mongoDB is off my list