Re: EMBEDDED PostgreSQL

> Running the app and dbms in the same process
> space will not guarantee that bugs in app will not mess up the database.

By embedded I thought we were saying *invisible to the user*. I agree that
having the database back end linked into user processes is dangerous. I
don't know if you can still do this in Firebird, but it was a link option
in Interbase 4. We tried it and had all kinds of problems with mapping of
shared memory and Unix signal conflicts. The application could go nuts and
trash the RDBMS' shared memory, or accidentally block its signals. Debug
that!

Rick

David Garamond
<lists(at)zara(dot)6(dot)isreserve To: pgsql-general(at)postgresql(dot)org
d.com> cc:
Sent by: Subject: Re: [GENERAL] EMBEDDED PostgreSQL
pgsql-general-owner(at)pos
tgresql.org


01/25/2005 06:15 PM

Richard_D_Levine(at)raytheon(dot)com wrote:
> The trick is making database administration invisible to the user. Since
> Firebird requires no administration, it's easy. The single file database
> architecture in Firebird is also easy since you generally have only one
> drive.

The decision not to create an embedded Postgres version is never about
administration issue. If we want to, we can make Postgres administration
and configuration as minimum as possible by creating, say, a pg_autotune
daemon that monitors the OS, db activity, and usage pattern, and
automatically adjusts the kernel and/or db parameters. I think there's
something like this in Oracle 10g and perhaps someday there will be too
in Postgres.

It's about reliability. Running the app and dbms in the same process
space will not guarantee that bugs in app will not mess up the database.

And after all, the "Firebird requires no administration" statement is
more of a marketing gimmick anyway. Is it really 100% DBA-free? Can
Firebird automatically connect to newegg.com and buy an extra harddisk
if it runs out of disk space? :-)

To me Postgres is already pretty low in administrative demand as it is.
Not that it cannot be improved, of course.

--
dave

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