Exsqueeze me people, why does the mySQL forum have a million times more posts than the postgreSQL forum?
PostgreSQL has higher performance than mySQL, many more features, and is open source while mySQL is not.. get on the right bandwagon!
Get your facts right: MySQL is also GPL'ed. As far as the features go, yes, PostgreSQL is more powerful, but I guess people are affraid of that power...Or something like that...
Just a note..
I like to try out applications from freshmeat a lot and 9 times out of ten the applications were meant for MySQL.
More use is gonna mean a larger Forum.
Another reason for the lack of Postgres posts is that many postgres users already know what they are doing, having already spent all the time they want to at MySQL/PHP. The less experienced users seem to be intimidated by Postgres.
I am starting to use Postgres, after having spent all the time I want at MySQL. While I deeply respect the MySQL design philosophy in creating a fast easy database system which is a great way to start programming dynamic websites, I am starting to desire some of the more advanced features, that I would normally have to *pay* for, but can now get for free with Postgres.
I just finished an installation of PHP-4.0.6 with MySQL (with Innodb transactions), and Postgres 7.1.2. I will say that PHP 4.0.6 is a speed demon :).
I will be sharing a few experiences with my Postgres attemps here, so hopefully the posts will go up. I look forward to any helpful posts from experienced users.
BTW the new version of phpPgAdmin (http://www.greatbridge.org/project/phppgadmin/download/download.php?branch=devel) (version 3 beta) is completely redesigned and looks very promising as a web-based administrative GUI.
Also, one of the most interesting Freshmeat apps that uses "only Postgres" is SQL-Ledger (http://www.sql-ledger.org/), a complete web-based accounting system that looks very useful.
Postgresql is good but not always the best DB to use.
We are trialing it after providing MySQL for 2 years, but because of the resources it uses it is going on a dedicated server. The other problem was the lack of GRANT for databases. But all seems well and very secure so far.
The problem is we are going to have to charge extra per database but the customers that want it are hard core... so they are ok with paying for it.
Good luck with it and I for one would like to know how you get on with it
Regards
Darren
Oh, I agree that MySQL is the perfect database for 99% of webhosting situations. Because of its simplicity, it has really removed the "barrier to entry" for new web developers. It has a very sophisticated user management system, and it is very resource-efficient.
PostgreSQL is more for writing serious applications, whether they be web-based or not. For example if you had a web-based multiuser accounting system, where there were many complicated interdependencies and constraints, it would be a nightmare to handle in MySQL.
Apparently, though, the PostgreSQL 7.1 series has made some major performance improvements. In general, the way to see the difference is: MySQL performs best as a distributor of data, where it's mostly just serving requests (SELECT queries), which is typical of a dynamic website. Postgres performs better than MySQL, though, when you have many different types of operations happening at once, such as INSERTs, UPDATEs, SELECTs, DELETEs, etc...
The other thing to remember about Postgres vs MySQL is that MySQL was designed for a multi-user environment. One daemon can handle a multitude of users, something that Postgres lacks. Thus hosting providers are much more likely to offer MySQL, therefore more users.
rod k I don't follow you at all. I don't think PostgreSQL is a single-user database :)
It's the same as MySQL, built for multi-user just like every RDBMS. I've never heard of a single-user RDBMS
OK, the first sentence wasn't stated in the best way, but the second and third stand. With pgsql you must have a seperate process for each user, with MySQL you don't. The daemon spawns children as connections are made and therefore for a typical virtual hosting setup, MySQL uses a LOT less resources moment by moment.
A typical v host can have 200 accounts. Using MySQL as the db allows there to be a variable number of processes running (anywhere from 1 to the number of simultaneous connections), whereas with pgsql you'd have to have 200 processes running constantly.
So what you are saying is that MySQL uses therads, while Postgres uses fork()-s???
Postgres may have more features, yes. But you can't get a copy of it on Win32 platform if I remember correctly. This is a big let down for both developers and the community.
Some people, like myself, use expensive software like Macromedia products to design and build websites and cannot justify installing Linux on their machines just for Postgres. This is why MySQL is so popular in comparison, it comes on both, no need to Cygwin or Ming32 port anything.
If there is a port for Win32 (NOT Cygwin) out there that doen't require you to be a Unix C/C++ code wizard, then please tell me, cause I have looked and couldn't find one.
God Bless
Scott Smith
This might help. It still requires Cygwin, but at least it provides some instructions oh how to do it right:
Actually these days, if you just do a default install of Cygwin, it automatically installs PostgreSQL. What could be easier? And you get all the other great Unix tools on Windows.
I think all the gurus must be on the email discussion lists or the usenet groups:
webdb (phpPgAdmin 3) was abandoned by the phpPgAdmin team. I guess they thought it was too much work to try to recreate something to the point of 2.4.1 from scratch. but 2.4.2b is out now for you folks to try out!
There aren't many good guis out there to administer PostgreSQL yet. pgAdmin does exist but it's still in it's infancy in terms of power.
I want a Visual Query Designer type tool for PostgreSQL :)