Re: MySQL Compatibility WAS: 8.5 release timetable, again

2009/8/26 Jean-Michel Pouré <jm(at)poure(dot)com>:
> After reading my story, I hope we can agree that noone is going to port
> any MySQL code to PostgreSQL ever. This demands too much intellectual
> efforts. Many people will migrate from DB2 and Oracle to PostgreSQL. But
> no MySQL developer is going to use PostgreSQL if he needs to modify SQL
> queries. I don't want to be offensive, but I really believe it.
>
> So we should support a minimal set of MySQL SQL instructions.
>
> After several years of porting MySQL code to PostrgeSQL, I believe that
> this limited list is enough: http://drupal.org/node/555514
>
> This is quite a straightforward need. Without this list of issues,
> PostgreSQL may never be able to run popular products developed under
> MySQL. Think of all commercial and free software projects. The impact of
> MySQLisms are huge. I can only compare it to Windows vs. GNU/Linux or
> FreeBSD. This is what comes in mind first.
>
> We are not leaving in a perfect world and there no reason to achieve
> perfectness. So let's support this list, please:
> http://drupal.org/node/555514
>

I'm starting to see how you rubbed the Drupal people the wrong way......

Most of the items on your list are misdiagnosed problems or are
features that we think are bugs in MySQL. You would get further asking
questions and for suggestions than you would insisting that you know
better and Postgres should change its interface to match MySQL.

With your current approach you're likely to get dismissed out of hand,
not unlike what I can well believe happened in the Drupal world. That
would be unfortunate because I think there are 2 or 3 real
improvements hidden in your list.

--
greg
http://mit.edu/~gsstark/resume.pdf