This week’s techmail is Why PostgreSQL is a better enterprise database than MySQL which takes a look at what makes PostgreSQL a compelling database, when compared to MySQL. Particularly in light of the whole Oracle/MySQL thing, I think it’s good to remind people that choice still exists, and that the “runner up” might actually be the better choice. This one mostly focuses on authentication, but that is definitely one area where PostgreSQL shines over MySQL (among many others).
5 Comments
> Particularly in light of the whole Oracle/MySQL thing…
So, tell me, is this part of your job to spread FUD against free software, or why is it that so many people from Red Hat love to troll against a rather successful free software product which MySQL is?
Not sure this has anything to do with my job, nor is it trolling against MySQL. In fact, if you bothered to read the article itself, you might have noticed that while the Oracle/MySQL thing is noted in passing, as a concern (which to many people it is), the article actually has nothing to say about Oracle and everything to say about one area where PostgreSQL is technically superior to MySQL (authentication).
I’m not sure how mentioning the Oracle/MySQL thing is FUD. Am I dreaming about it or is it actually happening? I guess if I mentioned that Apache could run on Windows I’d be spreading FUD too? Not quite sure I understand where you’re coming from with that comment…
My reaction was concerning your post rather than the original article, specially this part:
> Particularly in light of the whole Oracle/MySQL thing, I think
> it’s good to remind people that choice still exists
Accept my apologies if I didn’t understand that correctly, but I just can’t grok what does the “whole Oracle/MySQL thing” has to do with “choice” that people have. Sounded to me like if you were suggesting that “whole Oracle/MySQL thing” (rather than finer authentication mechanism) is a good reason for people to reconsider the choice of the database platform.
Hmmm… didn’t mean to imply that people should use it as a reason to jump ship for something else. =) It’s not _the_ reason to look at alternatives, but for some it could be _a_ reason for looking, technical merits aside, because, and lets be honest here, this is big news and a big deal to a lot of people. So I don’t think it’s trolling to say because of an issue that a lot of people feel passionate about (one way or the other) is one reason to look at alternatives. It might be the tipping point for some people, but I wouldn’t presume to say so. =)
Anyways, I think my point was that with all the hoopla surrounding the Oracle/MySQL thing, it’s a good idea to remind people — despite sensationalistic headlines (of which perhaps I’m guilty of taking advantage of) — that a perfectly fine free and open source alternative/competitor to MySQL exists.
Sorry if it sounded like I was trying to beat MySQL down or had some kind of agenda. I don’t. I use MySQL every day for a lot of things. I really like it. I use it more than PostgreSQL — largely because I’ve been too unmotivated to rewrite/modify stuff to use PostgreSQL instead. But, I still _like_ PostgreSQL better. =)
Sounds fair. Sorry for the inadequate reaction.