[Linux-aus] Not-quite-public bone to pick with Con

[Arjen Lentz]

Hi Leon, Con,

On Sun, 2003-04-06 at 00:15, Leon Brooks wrote:
> Con wrote:
> http://www.zdnet.com.au/builder/architect/database/story/0,2000034918,20273361,00.htm
> > MySQL is also the fastest full-featured SQL engine around, clocking in
> > at around 9 times faster than PostgreSQL
> 
> Oi! Only in _very_ specific circumstances, and 'tain't full-featured (although 
> MaxSQL brings it close). IRL, PostgreSQL is often faster than MySQL, most 
> notably for other than the most basic and simple queries or for heavy write 
> loads, but even sometimes on the basic mostly-read-only ones too.

Leon, this description appears to refer to a situation from over two
years ago, and does not take the InnoDB storage engine into account.
This storage engine is an integral part of MySQL 3.23-Max and any
4.0-Production version: it uses an Oracle-style table space, offers full
ACID compliancy, row-level locking with next-key locking, etc)...
In the current day, one really can't make such blanket statements
accurately. The issue is more complex.


Personally, I don't really see the reason for any "which is better"
argument, and I'll clarify why I think that.
Simply, MySQL and PostgreSQL have differing design goals:
- MySQL historically aims for speed, and this means that sometimes
implementation of new features takes longer.
- PostgreSQL's primary aim is to implement as much of the standard as
possible - remember that the origin of PostgreSQL lies in a Berkeley
research project.

I think that both angles are equally valid, and even convergant: in
recent releases, PostgreSQL has been making serious strides in the area
of speed (and making VACUUM nicer), and MySQL has been implementing many
features such as subqueries and SQL-99 stored procedures.
Also, having multiple open source projects in the same area, with
different perspectives, is good for innovation in all those projects. We
all benefit from the diverse insights.


It may be interesting for magazines and the like to pitch MySQL against
PostgreSQL, it makes for juicy reading, right?  But I really do think
that in print it almost always turns out to be an over-simplification of
the issues, and that means that those comparisons will have little
relevancy for actual users.
Different applications require different tools, and if multiple tools 
can do the job then perhaps it's just a matter of prior experience or
preference. All fine.
We all know there is no such thing as a universal hammer.


In the real world, the topical issue is clearly Open Source versus
proprietary software: "can Open Source products do the job?", an issue
that managers in many companies are only now starting to come to grips
with.
In that arena, I'm sure we can agree that MySQL and PostgreSQL are in
the same camp. It does not serve us (the Open Source community) to be
seen bickering amongst eachother - though I am sure Microsoft and Oracle
would enjoy it.
Because in this real world, both MySQL and PostgreSQL are taking over
significant tasks from MS-SQL, Oracle and other proprietary database
systems, on a daily basis. This happens both in businesses as well as in
governments, on a global scale. They want to save money, gain freedom,
and have increased security, amongst other things.
The proprietary DBMS companies are taking notice and are keeping a close
eye on us, have no doubt about that. They are quite aware that in the
not too distant future, these tiny pinpricks (in financial terms) will
grow into something that seriously affects their bottom line as well as
future market prospects.

As a point of reference: the MySQL User Conference in San Jose last week
was also visited by representatives from Microsoft and Oracle, among
others.... so let's not marginalise ourselves (opensource software)
while the proprietary competitors are already taking us very seriously
indeed. That would be a bad mistake.
Because we are not just in this as a hobby interest, are we, aren't we
looking to make a real difference?


Regards,
Arjen.
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