Re: [PHP-DB] Re: MySql or postgre? From: Alexey Borzov (borz_off <email protected>)
Date: 11/28/00

Greetings, Bob!

At 28.11.2000, 12:00, you wrote:
BH> Whether it's faster or not depends on the environment. For OLTP,
BH> definitely faster. For churning out web pages, probably not. On the
BH> down side, PostgreSQL is bigger, more complicated, harder to install,
BH> harder to learn. Earlier versions had a reputation for corrupting
BH> tables every few months under steady use. Whether this problem
BH> continues in the current version, I haven't heard.
    7.0.* don't corrupt anything anymore...
    Postgres is not too hard to learn or install (I've once watched
people installing Oracle - THAT was an unforgettable experience), besides,
its documentation is far more adequate than MySQL's.
    The problem is that MySQL's target auditory is the same as (f.e.)
M$ Access' - people who wanna use 'nifty database thingies' without investing
too much time into learning.

BH> The question is not whether one is better or not, but what you want
BH> to do. If you want a draught animal that can haul anything, go with
BH> PostgreSQL. If you want a race horse that goes fast around specific
BH> types of tracks, pick MySQL.
    There is a good anecdote about race horses... Unfortunately, it is
long, it is in Russian and I don't want to do its full translation...
    The summary is as follows: a physicist was given a grant to
solve a scientific problem - which horse will come first in the races?
After some hard work and spending all the money he was able to solve
it... Using the model of "a spherical horse in vacuum".

    I'm afraid, MySQL is just that - a spherical horse in vacuum. It
is quite fast while performing its own benchmarks, but may choke on
realworld tasks.

>>how about sql... are there any lacks on both of the data bases?

BH> At the moment, PostgreSQL has the edge (e.g. subqueries, set
BH> functions like UNION).

BH> MySQL is adding SQL functionality, so in the next few months the
BH> difference will become much smaller. Second parties are adding
BH> transactions and row level locking to the basic MySQL package,
BH> although currently the first is not yet gamma ware and the second is
BH> vapor ware. If these ever become reality, they will allow MySQL to
BH> function in an OLTP environment. Basically though, I think it's
BH> always going to be a niche database, although in a very large niche.
    Well, a metaphor once again:
    "Second parties adding transactions and row-level locking to the
RDBMS" is like "Second parties are adding 3D engine to Quake". It means one
thing: program's own developers are INCOMPETENT. 

-- 
Yours, Alexey V. Borzov, Webmaster of RDW

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