[RESOLVED] MySQL 5 please

[Roger Ramjet]

Thought I'd post it here: does anyone know a cheap mysql 5 host?

I was designing a db abstraction, mostly to get up to speed with classes in php, and half-way through realised I was faking stored procs in php. So then the penny dropped, if I did not want any sql in my code I should just start using ver 5 and get real stored proce and all the other extras. So I googled for a host and signed up to their 3 month trail. Guess what? The first time I tried to create a view it told me I don't have create view privileges ???

So I'm looking for a cheap host that does give full features of mysql ver 5 - php 5 would be a bonus.

This is just for learning and dev work so I can't spend much on it, I'll fork out when someone else is paying for a production site.

Also, any advice on using stored procs and named views in classes would be very welcome.

Ta folks.

[Sxooter]

I'm wondering if good hosts who provide MySQL 5 are about as rare as hosts that provide pgsql... :)

[bpat1434]

Servage is cheap and provides mySQL 4 or 5 (although they recommend 5) and php 4 as apache module and php 5 as cgi.

[stolzyboy]

bpat likes servage, i like hostgator :)

they have php4/5 and mysql4/5 as well

[bpat1434]

I used hostgator for a bit too, but I find Servage better. But either will work. Plus, servage now offers Web Drive so you don't have to upload, rather you connect your drive to your computer like a mapped network drive.

If only I could figure out how they do it, so I could map all 3 to my computer.....

[Roger Ramjet]

Looks good Brett, I'll give them a go as soon as they confirm stored procs and views.

Sxooter, both are becoming more common, I came across several offering pgsql - but I've no idea about the quality.

I was actually wondering about switching to pgsql anyway. Just how good are the BI features it has? I've got some stuff I'm working on - an upgrade, platform port and extention to an Access/SQLserver app that I own. In the process I want to add much fuller BI and reporting. I'll go with 2005 Express for the client/server but not for web-based - don't rate MS for anything web except perhaps their XML/AJAX work. But .NET hosting is soooo expensive I'd not consider it.

Does pgsql have the full BI functionality I need?

[Sxooter]

I'm not sure pgsql has full BI from the perspective of "pre-rolled" functionality some might expect. But it does have add on support for things like data cubes and there is a specialized version from EnterpriseDB that is heavily optimized for OLAP work. Is that pretty similar (OLAP like BI ?)

I have to say that when it comes to complex queries, the hand tuning required for postgresql is much less than the hand tuning required by MySQL.

P.s. We use it for BI here, and I have a few users that run queries against my workstation running 8.1.8 that take 30 minutes to an hour, rolling up data for 6 months of user usage from a table with 27,950,206 rows and growing.

I'm planning on migrating it to 8.2 in the next few weeks and giving it a home grown RAID 1+0 array to speed it up. It's nominally disk bound when running, which is a good sign that your database is efficient but your hardware just can't keep up.

[Roger Ramjet]

Yep BI as in business inteligence = OLAP.

Now I've just signed up with servage and I'm waiting for activation. But I'll not be doing any real processing there just uploading results for presentation. Even with stored procs so I can break it down into multiple queries, I don't rate mysql for complex analytical processing.

I've been meaning to give pgsql a try for ages - even burned some ISO disks with BDS and PGSQL 18 months ago for a spare box, but got side tracked. What distro do you recommend for dev and learning (high performance is not the issue here)?

[Sxooter]

Yep BI as in business inteligence = OLAP.

Now I've just signed up with servage and I'm waiting for activation. But I'll not be doing any real processing there just uploading results for presentation. Even with stored procs so I can break it down into multiple queries, I don't rate mysql for complex analytical processing.

I've been meaning to give pgsql a try for ages - even burned some ISO disks with BDS and PGSQL 18 months ago for a spare box, but got side tracked. What distro do you recommend for dev and learning (high performance is not the issue here)?

Whichever distro you like best. I use Fedora Core and RHEL cause that's what we have at work, but it runs well on BSD and other linux distros. Heck, it even runs ok on Winders, but don't expect as good of performance as an equivalent unix box. I'd recommend running the latest version 8.2.3 (or later) as there have been noticeable improvements in each major release.

[goldbug]

A2hosting.com
PHP 5.1.6, MySQL 4.1.x, MySQL 5.0.x, PostgreSQL 8.2.x, Ruby on Rails 1.2.x

[Roger Ramjet]

Yeah, I saw them and it looked pretty cool what with ruby on rails an all. Bit pricey when you look at the real price for the features I want.

[bpat1434]

especially if you only want to test stuff..... a little less than $10 per month is pretty good for all those features....

[Sxooter]

I think that the price was dirt cheap if you only need one database (and yes, I do need just one database, cue the rim shot! haha) at $4.95 a month plus $12.95 a year for a domain reg. At the discount of $4 a month for a year, that's only $60. That's less than the cost of a lot of magazine subscriptions.

I think I'll wander over and take a peak at A2...

[vaaaska]

I have to say that I love Servage. And, if you start having problems with your account you can request being moved to a new cluster...

One of the smartest webhosts out there...they clearly are watching what is happening with the net today and offering quality things (not a ton of crap like CPanel has).

[Roger Ramjet]

Well so far I've been impressed with Servage, got 2 domains already up on there - waiting for dns to propogate for 1.

The only drawback is not being able to connect to mysql with the mysql tools, which I love. I like to create all my dbs in access - habit maybe but it is so quick and easy to try things out on. Elsewhere I can use the mysql migration tool to connect and upload the db schema and data etc. At Servage I have to save and upload the sql file and wait for it to be processed - which meant 45 mins last night. Minor drawback, but I know I'm gonna miss some of the other tools as well.

As to A2, yes their basic packages are cheap but to get the features I've got now means the Pro pack and thats not so cheap. I'm up against it financially right now - been ripped badly by one company that went out of business cos they were robbing each other - so every penny counts. But I'll have to try A2 for the Ruby n Rails when I've got time to play with that.

[bradgrafelman]

At Servage I have to save and upload the sql file and wait for it to be processed Eh... why's that? They do have MySQL 5 servers that are remotely accessible IIRC.

[Roger Ramjet]

Eh... why's that? They do have MySQL 5 servers that are remotely accessible IIRC.

Do they, where's that? All I got was ... Ah yes, found it: it's a choice you select when you create the db. Cool, ta.

Did not see it the first time because it was showing v5 so I just left the select alone. I'll have to create another db for the dev and migrate it over when it's ready. No remote access makes security sense to me - which was the message I got when creating the first one.