Re: [GENERAL] Completely new and discovering PostGresSql

On Thu, 25 Nov 1999, Didier Gasser-Morlay wrote:

> I've been using MS Sql Server for the last 4 years on NT and I am quite
> fed-up with it.
> So I am now seriously considering a move towards LINUX and I investigate
> the serious DB offering and PostgreSql Seems to come as a really strong
> candidate.

Of course some might tell you that we run equally well on FreeBSD, etc. No
reason to jump straight to Linux because it's the anti-MS savior. Just so
you know.

> A. In SQl server I use a LOT of stored procedures which to me are a good
> way to isolate the front end from the 'business logic'. In order to use
> those Stored procedures one has to be able to create variables, cursors
> (even outside a transaction). What would be the equivalent in
> PostGresSql ?

Btw., it's spelled "PostgreSQL".

Anyway, we have all sorts of functions and procedures as well, but they
don't have the exact same functionality as "stored procedures" in other
DBMS's. I recommend that you look through the archives for stored
procedures, because there are _extended_ discussions taking place every so
often, which might explain the details to you.

> B. I have seen a fair amount of projects listed on the Web site, but it
> does not say much so my question is are there any heavy users of PG so
> far (by heavy I mean db with 150+ tables, 150 users, 3000 insert/update
> transactions a day + three times as much Selects) .... and really
> business-critical apps.

There also was a thread recently whether PostgreSQL is ready for mission
critical stuff. Look through that. The largest database I know of is about
60GB. There a several people having thousands of tables and thousands of
transactions an hour, so you should be safe there.

> C. Any good books on PGS ?

One is currently being written. You can follow the progress on the web
site.

> D. MS Sql server 6.5 has some stupid limitations such as 16 tables max
> in a join, 16 indexes per table, 6 (I believe) levbel of cascading
> trigger. I couldnot see any of those limits in PGS but did I overlooked
> anything ?

I'm not aware of them.

> E. I am confused about the NT version of PGS. Does it exists natively or
> does it requires support DLLs and libraries to work.

Requires Cygnus porting library.

--
Peter Eisentraut Sernanders vaeg 10:115
peter_e(at)gmx(dot)net 75262 Uppsala
http://yi.org/peter-e/ Sweden