Re: (clug-talk) MySQL and PHP books and resources recommendation.

[Kevin Anderson]

Much like Access, MySQL is a database that can do a fair bit, but it isn't really a complete SQL database.  It's OK, but it it's just OK.  And the missing features are evidence of that point.  It's a good place to start (I know it's debatible) but I'll go with that, your experience is on a larger scale, but similar to mine.  Basically we are the proof that it's a workable database for the situations where we deployed it.  When I said it didn't scale, I didn't really mean to a bigger database size.  What I really meant was scaling to a bigger application.  You will eventually want to use Stored Procedures, and MySQL won't let you.  That was the first (and last (we migrated)) limitation I hit with it.  As long as it's just simple "select * from db" or something like that, then there won't be any issues either way.   My database is MUCH smaller.  However, I've generally found that the number of users was far more important than the amount of data in the database.  We never had enough hits to slow ours down appreciably.  And it will never have enough data to matter.   Like I said, Postgres just feels more complete.  It's not anything tangible, at least not for me, but it just seems that way.  Maybe I've just read too many "MySQL sucks, Postgres Rules" comments.  That's certainly possible.   If it works, and you're happy with it, then use it.  Open Source is about choice.  The choice to use a better product, but also the choice to use something for no reason other than that you want to.  If you want to write HTML pages with VI, that's cool.  It's high maintenance, but whatever.  I went that route so that I'd actually learn a bit about HTML.  Now that I'm semi-literate, I'd use something other than vi (anything but vi).  Same is true for Databases.  If you want to use MySQL, do it.  you don't need a reason, just go with it.  The one thing we'd probably all agree on is that you're better off with a Linux box running MySQL and Apache for your website than a legacy Windows Server running IIS and MS SQL.   Kev.       On Tue, 2002-10-15 at 21:00, Kevin Anderson wrote: > MySQL is like MS Access.  It's an OK database, but it doesn't scale nearly > as far as PostgreSQL.   I don't think a comparision to MS Access is very fair.  Perhaps MySQL doesn't scale as far as PostgreSQL.  I don't know as I've never tried it.   I do know that MySQL easily handles 200 GB of data for our main web app at work, provides all the features we need, and handles all our transaction load.  For what our company needs, it scales just fine.   We could probably have used PostgreSQL as well.  They're both good tools for the majority of database tasks.   -- Guy Davis     http://www.guydavis.ca    Calgary, Alberta, Canada   Digitally signed by GnuPG (DSA ID 30D52F0B at www.keyserver.net) PGP Fingerprint: 8DC8 4A6F C1AD 393B 39DB CDBF 196D 31D0 30D5 2F0