It still is, but the hot path is much smaller than that.
> 2) The Q language syntax, while consistent, is fairly arcane and throwback to decades past.
I can't comment about this. I don't mind the syntax. I prefer k syntax though.
> 3) The documentation and driver support is abysmal.
This is getting a lot better. The fusion API[1] goes a long way towards better "drivers", and the new documentation site[2] shows a lot of energy being put into organization. There's also Q for mortals[3] which is linearized for people who like that.
[1]: http://code.kx.com/q/interfaces/fusion/
[3]: http://code.kx.com/q4m3/preface/
> 4) It's supposedly extremely fast, but I can't help but wonder if this is a lot of successful PR and hype
There are a lot of good benchmarks of kdb[4] unlike Oracle :)