Re: MySQL's (false?) claims... (was: Re: PL/java?)

Justin Clift writes:

> If anyone else can see things blatantly wrong on that page, email me
> about them and I'll ask Monty (the MySQL guy) to please
> change/remove/fix them.

> > > http://www.mysql.com/doc/M/y/MySQL-PostgreSQL_features.html

Many of these advantages can easily interpreted as disadvantages. For
example:

* MySQL has more API to other languages and is supported by more programs
than PostgreSQL. See section D Contributed Programs.

=> MySQL has 6 Perl modules, 5 ODBC drivers, and 4 C++ interfaces.
PostgreSQL concentrates its efforts on making one driver work best for all
users.

* There are far moore books in print on MySQL than on PostgreSQL.
O'Reilly, Sams, Que, and New Riders are all major publishers with books
about MySQL.

=> MySQL is so hard to understand and poorly documented, a plethora of
books had to come out before anyone could use it.

* All MySQL features is also documented in the MySQL on-line manual
because when a feature is implemented, the MySQL developers are required
to document it before it's included in the source.

=> blah... :-)

* MySQL has support for tables without transactions for applications that
need all speed they can get.

=> MySQL is not a fully transactional database system.

* MySQL has support for 3 different table handles that support
transactions

=> In PostgreSQL you don't need to think about which table type to choose
because one works for all.

* MySQL has internal support for text search. See section 6.8 MySQL
Full-text Search.

=> PostgreSQL has a number of different full text search solutions
available, or users can plug in their own.

* You can access many databases from the same connection (depending of
course on your privileges).

=> PostgreSQL does not allow you to access more than one database per
connection. This makes the system much safer and allows for more robust
design.

* MySQL is coded from the start with multi-threading while PostgreSQL uses
processes.

=> PostgreSQL is coded from the start with multi-processing while MySQL
uses threads. Threads have historically led to much more bug-prone
programs and are poorly supported on many operating systems. If one
thread crashes your whole server goes down.

* MySQL has a much more sophisticated privilege system than PostgreSQL.

=> MySQL has a much more complicated privilege system than PostgreSQL.

* MySQL employs the table handler concept and is the only relational
database we know of built around this concept.

=> MySQL employs a table handler concept, which makes your code much less
SQL compliant and makes MySQL harder to learn.

* Tools to repair and optimize MyISAM tables (the most common MySQL table
type).

=> In MySQL you have to repair your tables manually if corruption occurs.
PostgreSQL is coded so that corruption cannot occur.

--
Peter Eisentraut peter_e(at)gmx(dot)net http://funkturm.homeip.net/~peter