Re: 64 Bit Compatibility

Josh Berkus wrote:
> In one way, it's not important. "64 Bit Compatibility" is one of
> today's tech buzzwords, like "Web Services" or like "ready for the
> Enterprise" was years ago. These terms and phrases too vague to be
> meaningful in and of themselves, but it's important to point out
> that you "have" them loudly and repeatedly lest you get classified
> as "legacy software" by the press ... and in the corporate
> executive boardroom, where VP decisions are often governed by
> buzzwords:

The dichotomy is precisely why I suggested the wording I suggested.

"PostgreSQL support for 64 bit systems means database processes can
access more than 2GB of physical memory, which is vital for managing
large enterprise databases and data warehousing applications."

That combines the buzzword ("64 bit") with terse but real _reason for
usefulness_ that might conceivably give people a clue as to why "64
bits" is more than merely a buzzword.

> I'm reluctant to give up the mention of Oracle, becuase without it
> the quote lacks all punch. However, we don't have to say "faster
> than" if that's going to be a trigger for them. What about:

> "If you tried PostgreSQL before, and went with a commercial database
> like Oracle or DB2 instead, it's time to re-evaluate," says
> Rod. "PostgreSQL's tremendously improved performance and
> ever-expanding feature set make PostgreSQL competitive with even the
> highest-end database systems."

Let me suggest new words to put in Rod's mouth...

"If you tried PostgreSQL before [a thought: mention a time frame,
like 'last year'], and performance comparisons led you to choose
databases like DB/2 or Oracle, it is time to re-evaluate.
PostgreSQL's performance has improved tremendously [time frame?
'over the last two years'?] and this, along with its ever-expanding
feature set makes it competitive with even the highest end database
systems."

Putting in timeframes gives the message that if someone evaluated some
older version, then their conclusions then are invalid now. And it
does so without saying "You're wrong!"

Of course, if Rod wants to say other words, the words certainly are
his to generate :-).
--
"cbbrowne","@","libertyrms.info"
<http://dev6.int.libertyrms.com/>
Christopher Browne
(416) 646 3304 x124 (land)