Re: why postgresql over other RDBMS

[Tom Allison <tom(at)tacocat(dot)net>]

I think the general topic got lost in the weeds there...

But it would be helpful if you identified what you care about in a  
database.  That drives a lot of these decisions.

Example:  My brother uses MySQL and I use Postgresql.
His reasons for MySQL:
More books on it at the bookstore.
It was already a default build in Rails.
Came installed on his SuSE build.
Didn't like the pg_hba.conf file and preferred to do all the  
permissions via SQL tables.

My reasons for Postgresql:
Very focused on consistent data and not losing information when  
things go wrong.
The performance curve as you add users is much flatter than MySQL.   
Under MySQL you have better speed with ~3 users but at 50 users  
Postgresql is a clear winner on my hardware.  In general I found it  
to scale smoother without a sweet spot.
I prefer pg_hba.conf over tables.
Zero maintenance & great tools.
It's more SQL standard so what I do on Oracle I can generally do on  
Postgresql and visa versa.

None of this has anything to do with Oracle or SQL Server, but these  
are examples of what is important to each of us.

What's important to you?

On May 24, 2007, at 4:06 AM, Jasbinder Singh Bali wrote:

> Hi
> I was wondering, apart from extensive procedural language support  
> and being free,
> what are other major advantages of Postgresql over other major  
> RDBMS like oracle and sql server.
>
> Any pointers would be highly appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> ~Jas