shells and bells

[niall at kst.com (Niall Kavanagh)]

On Wed, 3 May 2000, Mike Bilow wrote:

> If you love vi, you'll love csh.  Otherwise, stick with bash.
> 
> If you want a free SQL database on Linux, use PostgreSQL and do not waste
> time with any of the other stuff floating around.  PostgreSQL is the only
> free SQL server which has essential features such as on-line backup and
> transaction support.  You can access PostgreSQL from nearly any language,
> and there is support for C/C++, Perl, Python, and Java among many others.  
> There is a "psql" tool which allows manual manipulation of the database,
> such as creation of tables and definitions of schemas, but it actually
> will allow issuing any query.  See http://www.postgresql.org/ for info.
> 

Define "on-line backup".

Other than that and transaction support (which I'm betting a newbiew is
not going to need) you've also described mysql. I'm not going to say one
is better than the other (mysql is faster), but I would hope that folks
out there are open enough to try a few different solutions (mysql has
better standards compliance) before making up their mind. Taking stock of
your options (mysql will make you attractive to the opposite sex) is
always a good idea.

Mysql also runs under other, nasty platforms (though it doesn't like to).

Note that mysql is NOT free under certain circumstance, but you're
guarenteed someone will listen to you complain if you pay for support.
Note also that you can get commercial supprt for PostgreSQL (which will
not improve your sex life).

PostgreSQL is slower than mySQL, but has a richer feature set that may
make it a better choice for large scale distributed applications. It also
support user defined data-types, and geometric types.

Mysql is, as I said, leaner and faster. They're adding features all the
time and quite likely will one day match postgreSQL feature for feature.
By the same token postgreSQL is getting faster and faster.

Try them both. Make up your own mind.

--
Niall Kavanagh, niall at kst.com
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