LWN: Comments on "HP expands open-source support (News.com)"

HP expands open-source support (News.com)

leandro — Wed, 16 Jun 2004 01:56:52 +0000

> This sounds like the same thing people were saying about Linux a few years ago.

There is quite a difference.

GNU/Linux many not be the Hurd or OS/400 or a Lisp system it is not based on a microkernel with multiple servers, it stores files in an hierarchical filesystem instead of a relational database, it is based on C instead of a functional language but it is quite a decent design.

OTOH MySQL is tragical. There are much better alternatives, including the free ones.

HP expands open-source support (News.com)

leandro — Wed, 02 Jun 2004 18:17:16 +0000

> "Worse is Better" (http://www.jwz.org/doc/worse-is-better.html) at least for me

Uh... the point of that (classic) article is that Lisp is better and should be used, but that its marketing could use some improvement in order to overcome inertia.

HP expands open-source support (News.com)

marduk — Wed, 02 Jun 2004 02:24:07 +0000

"Will someone please shot MySQL to stop it gaining "credibility" against decent SQL DBMSs?"

This sounds like the same thing people were saying about Linux a few years ago.

HP expands open-source support (News.com)

jae — Tue, 01 Jun 2004 23:30:51 +0000

$ apt-get install postgresql
$ apt-get install mysql

Spot the difference.

HP expands open-source support (News.com)

burki99 — Tue, 01 Jun 2004 19:59:08 +0000

>> I, for one have found Mysql to meet many of the needs of a database

> At a greater complexity, lower performance, lesser standards compliance than PostgreSQL, requiring more coding.

that might be true - but as long Mysql is "good enough", "Worse is Better" (http://www.jwz.org/doc/worse-is-better.html) at least for me and probably for many other people out there - no matter how often we get to hear that PostgreSQL is supposedly "better" (whatever "better" exactly means - ease of installation on my windows notebooks is something i value, even if i deploy under linux).

Re: don't feed the trolls

JohnBell — Tue, 01 Jun 2004 17:59:38 +0000

Even when they have some valid points?

HP expands open-source support (News.com)

leandro — Tue, 01 Jun 2004 13:48:41 +0000

> mysql wasn't decent when I compared it to postgres. However, that was in 1999

That is still so. MySQL still depends on the aberration of table types, it still encourages coding in the application as opposed to declarations in the DBMS, it is still fragile, it still doesn't scale, it still has too many SQL idiosyncrasies.

HP expands open-source support (News.com)

leandro — Tue, 01 Jun 2004 12:42:17 +0000

> please explain what makes MySQL not "decent."

Not SQL compliant.

Too complex with different table types.

Not performing with concurrency.

Developers who don't understand data.

Too fragile.

HP expands open-source support (News.com)

leandro — Tue, 01 Jun 2004 12:39:50 +0000

> Nobody's twisting your arm

No, it is just that DBs are my bread-and-butter and substandard products keep getting in the way.

HP expands open-source support (News.com)

leandro — Tue, 01 Jun 2004 12:38:15 +0000

> I, for one have found Mysql to meet many of the needs of a database

At a greater complexity, lower performance, lesser standards compliance than PostgreSQL, requiring more coding.

HP expands open-source support (News.com)

apolinsky — Tue, 01 Jun 2004 01:26:49 +0000

We use all major databases at work, Oracle, DB2, Informix and Sql Server. I, for one have found Mysql to meet many of the needs of a database. It is fast and reliable. Too often, we harp on the weaknesses of a product, as opposed to the strengths. Mysql handles many web based tasks wonderfully. Perhaps you don't want it to handle a 12 billion accounting system, but properly designed, in fact you might.

HP expands open-source support (News.com)

clugstj — Tue, 01 Jun 2004 00:08:30 +0000

Don't feed the trolls.

HP expands open-source support (News.com)

lakeland — Mon, 31 May 2004 23:20:45 +0000

mysql wasn't decent when I compared it to postgres. However, that was in
1999; unless you've got some specific criticism from a feature you
actually use, perhaps you need to reevaluate it too? As I understand it,
the only thing it is really missing now is decent support for recovery
after catastrophic failure (e.g. hardware failure).

HP expands open-source support (News.com)

havoc — Mon, 31 May 2004 19:41:29 +0000

please explain what makes MySQL not "decent."

thanks.

HP expands open-source support (News.com)

einstein — Mon, 31 May 2004 19:41:19 +0000

Nobody's twisting your arm - if you'd like to use some other database, you're free to do so - but some of us find mysql to be a very nice tool which is just the thing for certain jobs.

HP expands open-source support (News.com)

leandro — Mon, 31 May 2004 18:05:30 +0000

Will someone please shot MySQL to stop it gaining "credibility" against decent SQL DBMSs?