On Wed, Feb 02, 2005 at 08:52:17AM -0800, Scott Chapman wrote: > I have found that MySQL should not be used for data driven web sites as well. >
> There is no advantage to using MySQL over Postgres. > I talked with the author of the GIS extension to MySQL and found that it is a > poorly written database overall. PostGIS is much better implemented and much > I feel the same way about PHP. Use Python instead. PHP is not a good > quality > language. It amazes me that MySQL and PHP have mind-share out there when > they are no where near as good as the other free tools available. :) Yes. AFAICT, the only excuse for the existence of MySQL and PHP at all is the ignorance of their creators. They are poor tools for the jobs they do, are inferior to other existing tools for the same jobs, and appear to have ALWAYS been so, over their entire lifespans! (That last point is a stretch, as I am not familiar with the detailed development histories of MySQL, PHP, and their competitors. But I'd bet that it is true.) There are plenty of tasks for which MySQL and PHP are adequate, and sunk costs or non-engineering requirements may, on rare occasions, compel one to rationally choose those tools. But so far I'm not aware of a single tasks for which either MySQL or PHP is the best technical choice - as opposed to a poor one. The fact that one can adequately bang some nails with a rock doesn't make a rock a particularly good hammer... > It proves over and over again that technical excellence does not > gain market share. Marketing gains market share. To a large degree, yes. (Unfortunately, it's hard to be precise, because neither popularity nor excellence are yet scientifically understood phenomena.) And to the engineer, craftsman, scientist, or artist who appreciates and aspires to excellence, this can be discouraging. But remember, this is more or less typical in ALL spheres of human endeavor, not just yours! Take heart that you are not alone, but rather aspire to be worthy of the ancient tradition human excellence! :) Maybe popularity will converge to the same conclusion as excellence, maybe not. But for most of us it doesn't really matter. In the meantime, keep building high quality stuff, enjoy the greater productivity that better, "more excellent" tools bring, and do your best to help out those newbies who start to realize that, e.g. MySQL isn't the perfect RDBMS after all, and there just might be better alternatives out there... Here's another link on the with more such discussion, mostly about PHP: http://openacs.org/forums/message-view?message_id=198734 Greenspun's brief "Professionalism for Software Engineers" article seems relevent to the broader issues I started rambling about above: http://philip.greenspun.com/ancient-history/professionalism-for-software-engineers What I also find interesting, is that it's often easier to evaluate the quality of software not by directly examining it, but by examining the community surrounding it. Detailed hands-on technical evaluation can be critical, but also hard, costly, and boring. Human pattern recognition based on reading books, email lists, etc. on the other hand, is more vague, but often much easier, cheaper, and - at least for the inveterate readers among us - more fun. E.g., this observation that MySQL users tend to be Not That Sharp, by Roberto Mello (who is): http://openacs.org/forums/message-view?message%5fid=202856#202917 http://openacs.org/forums/message-view?message_id=20355 -- Andrew Piskorski <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.piskorski.com/
