View Poll Results: What are your thoughts on PostgreSQL versus MySQL?

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  • MySQL is just fine

    6 31.58%
  • MySQL is better than Postgres

    4 21.05%
  • Postgres is better, but no one offers it

    1 5.26%
  • I use Postgres and love it

    5 26.32%
  • I am not familiar with Postgres

    2 10.53%
  • I don't use a database

    1 5.26%
Results 1 to 20 of 20
  1. #1
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    Question PostgreSQL or MySQL?

    I wanted to get a sense of the usage of Postgres versus MySQL. Does anyone here prefer Postgres over MySQL?

  2. #2
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    I think that all depend. That like compare Honda and Ford. I believe there are lots of fans of PostgreSQL and plenty of MySQL
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  3. #3
    I would say that MySQL is used more than PostgreSQL, but then you will find companys that disagree whom use PostgreSQL, but even companys whom use it, will use MySQL Along side it..

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by rod19425 View Post
    I wanted to get a sense of the usage of Postgres versus MySQL. Does anyone here prefer Postgres over MySQL?
    Of course! Anyone who appreciated standards for the last 7 years would have not come near MySQL. They have finally started to handle some standards in the 5.0 series but I chose long ago.

  5. #5
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    I don't think anyone can come up with reasons why you should use MySQL over PostgreSQL, besides the fact that more people use MySQL. On the other hand, there are reasons to use PostgreSQL over MySQL.


  6. #6
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    So, besides the ubiquity of MySQL, why has Postgres not overtaken MySQL?

    Is it lack of clear support offerings for webhosts? Is it lack of an integrated webhosted offering (control panel, admin console, etc) Is it upstream (ie the big guys that a lot of resellers use don't offer it)? Is it an education issue?
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  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by stdunbar View Post
    Of course! Anyone who appreciated standards for the last 7 years would have not come near MySQL. They have finally started to handle some standards in the 5.0 series but I chose long ago.
    Agreed.

    MySQL (InnoDB only) is useful and worthwhile; however, I am becoming more and more of a Postgres fan each day. MyISAM is pretty much out of the question entirely at this point; it's an excuse of a storage engine.

  8. #8
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    MySQL is fantastic and works for most people most of the time. I think for the majority of users they should look to MySQL first, since its everywhere and it is used for most web applications by default.

    There may be particular reasons you would prefer PostgreSQL over MySQL and that is fine. Go ahead and use it. Its not like its that hard to install PostgreSQL if you need it. If you're not a server admin its pretty easy to find a web host that has PostgreSQL support now.
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  9. #9
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    It doesn't matter which DB System that I use. Most hosts offer MySQL standard but there are fewer hosts that offer PostgreSQL. Why some hosts don't offer PostgreSQL I have no idea. I think hosts should offer both DB Systems but that means one more thing to keep up with.
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  10. #10
    MySQL has been backed by commercial support from the beginning and has also had excellent Linux distribution support right from scratch. Postgres has had efforts to get commercial and is is commercially supported even now. First came Great Bridge, then Command Line, Inc, and then Pervasive Software. They all failed for various reasons.
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  11. #11
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    What about now? EnterpriseDB has been doing the Postgres thing for 3 years now. They just launched Postgres Plus which is a full distribution with administration built in, etc. They have a high end support offering though.

    Its 995/socket for business hours support and $2495/socket for 24/7 support. What if they had special support packages for smaller webhosts?

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Neosmith View Post
    It doesn't matter which DB System that I use. Most hosts offer MySQL standard but there are fewer hosts that offer PostgreSQL. Why some hosts don't offer PostgreSQL I have no idea. I think hosts should offer both DB Systems but that means one more thing to keep up with.
    Pretty simple most hosts are running servers that handle everything. Adding a second database server is going to add more overhead. So instead of offering PostgreSQL for the 0.1% who want it they see it as not worth it considering 99.9% of web hosting users want mysql.
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  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by TonyB View Post
    Pretty simple most hosts are running servers that handle everything. Adding a second database server is going to add more overhead. So instead of offering PostgreSQL for the 0.1% who want it they see it as not worth it considering 99.9% of web hosting users want mysql.
    Where did you pull that statistic from?


  14. #14
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    Yeah, not sure I buy that statistic. I agree that MySQL has more mindshare right now, but the delta is not great.

    I would be interested in some legitimate stats, if available.
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  15. #15
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    Where did you pull that statistic from?
    Perhaps "99.9%" should be read as "the vast majority". I doubt that Tony meant anything else.

  16. #16
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    It is a question of requirements.. http://www-css.fnal.gov/dsg/external...-vs-mysql.html - Postgre has native support for transactions, support for full joins, unions, table views and triggers but is slower.

    MySQL is faster, doesn't support transactions as explicitly (and cannot without InnoDB) and is better at handling large text lumps.
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  17. #17
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    Jamie,

    that is a woefully outdated document (2005). Both databases have improved dramatically since then.

    Try this: http://www.wikivs.com/wiki/MySQL_vs_PostgreSQL

    or this: http://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Why_..._Speed_in_2007
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  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jamie Edwards View Post
    It is a question of requirements.. http://www-css.fnal.gov/dsg/external...-vs-mysql.html - Postgre has native support for transactions, support for full joins, unions, table views and triggers but is slower.

    MySQL is faster, doesn't support transactions as explicitly (and cannot without InnoDB) and is better at handling large text lumps.
    You're saying that in all of your experiences, PostgreSQL is slower than MySQL in everything feature? I beg to differ.

    Also that information is old, thus it's inaccurate for today.


  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by daejuanj View Post
    You're saying that in all of your experiences, PostgreSQL is slower than MySQL in everything feature? I beg to differ.

    Also that information is old, thus it's inaccurate for today.
    Yes - it is, due to Postgre's thorough handling and explicit execution of transactions. The more robust and thorough the transaction handling and vacuum, the slower the database (i.e. look at Oracle).

    On todays hardware with medium sized databases, the speed differences on either may be negligible.
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  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jamie Edwards View Post
    On todays hardware with medium sized databases, the speed differences on either may be negligible.
    Ok, that's more accurate.

    But still, for certain functions, PostgreSQL is noticeably faster and slower than MySQL.


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