Re: [Fwd: MySQL announces MaxDB as new name for SAP DB]

-----Original Message-----
From: Kaarel [mailto:kaarel(at)future(dot)ee]
Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2003 7:16 AM
To: pgsql-advocacy(at)postgresql(dot)org
Subject: [pgsql-advocacy] [Fwd: MySQL announces MaxDB as new name for
SAP DB]

>Anyway, the business model of covering both needs - speed and features
-
>is great. However they now have officially two different databases to
>manage. The only thing better than that approach is one database that
is
>fast *and* featurefull....can this be PostgreSQL?

Kaarel, remember that you are reading a marketing announcement. Its
design is to catch your eye and make you feel good about the database.
mysql has a much stronger commercial focus, for good or for evil
(debatable). As a potential developer, you need to be more concerned
with much more practical answers:

1. How does said database affect my development time?
2. What kind of portability issues are there?
3. What are the costs associated with commercial deployment?
4. What kind of support can I expect from the user community?
5. Does the database meet my technical requirements?
6. What are the ongoing administration costs?

I have found, (in almost 6 years of database work), that postgres is a
clear winner in all categories. This is a experience gained not from
successful projects, but from failed ones; I've learned some hard
lessons that I would not like to relearn :)

IMO, as of postgres 7.1, there are few reasons to choose any other
database (with the special exception of the windows platform, you may be
better off with ms sql server, but not for long!). If you truly
understand databases and love your work, you should have an appreciation
of why this is true.

Merlin