Jerry Apfelbaum wrote:

Subject: MySQL or MaxDB or PostgreSQL or Interbase/Firebird or ?


Hello.
�
I have been tasked with evaluating open source databases for a large
upcoming project:� e-commerce, B2B, high availability.
�
The O/S is most likely to be Linux, although FreeBSD could possibly be used
(lower probability).
�
So far, it seems that MySQL, MaxDB, PostgreSQL, and Interbase/Firebird are
possible candidates.
�
Does anyone know why we should or should not use any of these?� Does anyone
know of other possibilities?
�
I�d very much appreciate hearing your comments and recommendations.
�
I have only recently started these evaluations.  BTW, my own background is
from the Oracle DBA world.
�
MySQL is certainly popular and seems to have very good performance, but I am
concerned that the lack of Triggers, Stored Procedures, User-Defined
Functions, and Views (to a lesser degree ) will be a disadvantage.
�
MaxDB "appears" to be more feature-rich and possibly more
industrial-strength.� How does its performance and stability compare to the
others?
�

-----

Jerry,

I too am evaluating databases for an Open Source project of mine and I have
MySQL, MaxDB and PostgreSQL on my system (the latter under Cygwin). The
other candidates I'm looking at are SQL Server, IBM DB2 Express and
Intersystems Cache, though none of these are Open Source. At present I'm
just at the beginning stage, but I have rejected MySql as, to my mind at
least, it doesn't have the tools needed to develop enterprise-class
applications, certainly not in the form downloadable from the web site. 

MaxDB is more sophisticated in my view, especially for the integration with
the web (*if* I can get WebDAV running). One concern with MaxDB is that the
development side looks a bit primitive with its emphasis on command-line
tools and traditional VMAKE facility, although the SQL development interface
isn't too bad. I think it would be quite difficult to decouple the backend
code from the application itself. Also, its security features seem a bit
primitive, at least from the point of view of a default install (I couldn't
get it to work under XP with my "secure" password which is more that 8
characters long and is mixed case. I had to go back to a simpler scheme to
get it to install). I may of course be wrong as this judgement is based on
short exposure and I'm running XP!

PostgreSQL I rejected because I can't find a version that runs under Windows
without a lot of recompiling and, presumably, a lot of hacking, but it does
run well under Linux. Judging by some of the posts I've seen on the list
regarding the stability of MaxDB under various versions of RedHat, it would
seem likely that stability problems might occur when in production. Not a
good thing! So, from the Open Source point-of-view, PostgreSQL might be a
more stable candidate.

The other "proprietary" databases have their adherents. DB2 and Cache look
good to me. DB from the point-of-view of the development environment for a
traditional relational DB and Cache because it's fully object-oriented. Both
integrate fairly well with DotNET which is an advantage for my project.


Best Regards,
James Bannon
(When in doubt, try honesty!) 



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