Re: How to convince people to choose PostgreSQL over MySQL?

There were a few reasons that MySQL took off when it did:

1) PostgreSQL was really, really slow at the time (PG < 7)
2) MySQL for simple select statements was (and is) really really fast
3) Wordpress used MySQL

MySQL is great for simple stuff. If you are doing only simple selects, and
the thing you care most in the world about is simple scanning speed, MySQL
may in fact be right for you.

But anytime you need your database to be more powerful, it is almost always
dwarfed by PostgreSQL. PG has long left its slow days behind it. Even
more importantly, complex queries are MUCH better to handle in PG. The
query optimizer in PG is actually pretty amazing. I don't think MySQL even
has anything close. PG allows full-text querying, searching, etc. in a
native fashion. It has a ton of great extensions. It fully supports full
programming languages when building functions.

Anyway, if you are only doing simple selects, then perhaps MySQL is all
right. If you are doing anything else, use PG.

Jon

On Fri, Jun 9, 2017 at 1:58 PM, Tobias May <tobias(dot)m(at)inventati(dot)org> wrote:

> Mellow Greetings all,
>
> I'm a junior DBA and PostgreSQL-enthusiast. Last year I switched to a
> company where they promised to me the opportunity to dive deeper into
> PostgreSQL.
>
> At that time there was a lead developer, who was a
> PostgreSQL-enthusiast, too. And there was an agreement that PostgreSQL
> is the primary database backend for our product. Unfortunately she has
> been frozen out by non-technical decision makers. Now there is only one
> colleague and me (without authority to decide) left to advocate PostgreSQL.
>
> Most of the developers in the company are used to MySQL. Although they
> seem to accept PostgreSQL some still subtly question the decision and
> I'm feeling, that I have to constantly defend the decision for PostgreSQL.
>
> To be prepared I tried to collect and refine as much hard evidence as
> possible, during the last couple of months, e.g,
> https://grimoire.ca/mysql/choose-something-else,
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emgJtr9tIME (some points are not valid
> anymore),
> http://insights.dice.com/2015/03/19/why-i-choose-postgresql-
> over-mysqlmariadb/,
> http://modern-sql.com/slides,
> PostgreSQL is community-driven (huge plus!),
> Oracle treats MySQL like a stepchild (understandably they don't want
> competitors for "Oracle DB"), etc.
>
> To me all these political and technical advantages of PostgreSQl over
> MySQL are more than enough. But the results don't feel "resilient"
> enough. It is also cumbersome to keep track of how far ahead PostgreSQL
> is in comparison of features and standards compliance and providing
> undeniable practical examples.
>
> Finally:
> How do I convince people to choose PostgreSQL over a MySQL?
> Alternatively:
> How do I cope with people, which refuse the available (too few?) facts?
>
> Thank you so much for this little gem called PostgreSQL. Keep up the
> great work.
>
>
> Be well,
>
> Tobias
>