Re: Postgresql -- initial impressions and comments

j.random.programmer wrote:
> I am a long time MySQL/Innodb user. I just installed
> postgres 7.3 on my linux box and thought I'd post
> some comments:

are you trolling? i suspect you are, but here's my comment anyway :-)

> 1)
> Running postgres as non-root is understandable but
> should not be _mandated_ (for totally private
> networks,
> it's overkill). Trust the user...

i could understand your wish to run the daemon as root (for whatever
twisted reason, only god knows), but i could not fathom your argument.
"it's an overkill"? wouldn't running *as root* be an overkill? do you
run mysql as root?

there is no good reason for running as root, so i think it's okay to
forbid it altogether. many programs forbid it too.

> 4) The auto-increment ("serial") fields are very
> badly documented.

since you came from the mysql world, this is understandable. mysql
doesn't have a "serial". it only has "autoincrement field." a
convenience, at best. not very flexible.

> Well, having played with postgres for the first time,
> these were the initial (after 4-5 hours) points that
> came up. But overall, it looks and feels like a solid
> product. The hot dump is a nice feature - I can
> dump the db without shutting it down - innodb in
> contrast charges $$ for this feature.

well, i agree with you that postgresql is stable and solid. one of my
biggest gripes with postgresql is that it's not "lightweight" or
"simple" enough. some things are awkward/a chore to do in postgresql,
while simple in other dbms's. in mysql, i can shut down mysqld, copy the
database directory to another installation, and be done with it. ms
access and interbase/firebird (and sql server 2000 i think?) are even
simpler: just copy the database file. i can't do these things with
postgresql.

--
dave