Hey, Threadiverse! I’m looking for informed opinions on database choices.
I can stand up an Internet-facing application and have it use either MySQL or PostgreSQL. Which is the better choice, and why do you think so?
Thanks!
As someone that admins hundreds of MySQL at work, I’d go with PostgreSQL.
Yeah, every time I find some weird annoying behavior or some missing feature in MySQL, PostgreSQL is doing it right.
That said, also ask yourself if you really need a relational database, or whether an object store or append-only / timeseries db would fit better.
Same.
Postgres is a more robust and better designed and developed product, also it’s not owned by fucking Oracle.
As somebody who just watched a team implement MySQL for an app that only supported Postgres, I’d go with Postgres.
I never want to use MySQL again. Postgres or SQLite for relational databases.
Ha! My deepest experience with postgres was watching it fall over and wedge daily when run behind red hat’s satellite (the flailing lame foreman one, not spacewalk).
Wow, was it ever a dog. Yeah, I get it: the company who shat Systemd on the planet can’t be asked to do much better, but still.
PostgreSQL is just better. It’s supports transactions on DDL (things like altering table structure) and enforces unique constraints after transactions complete … so you can actually do a bunch of important stuff (like update your table structure or swap unique values between rows) safely.
Another vote for Postgres, MySQL kind of blows.
Postgres also had the advantage of great support for JSON elements, which gives you the power of a no-sql system like mongo in the package. A major selling point if your schema is evolving.
Maria database is free and open source. It uses MySQL format.
Maria is MySQL. More specifically it is a fork with many additional features.
Maria database is free and open source.
Why are you implying that PostgreSQL isn’t?
Well mySQL certainly is not, I judge this to be a correct statement!
Actually, really good point. Sorry, person-I-responded-to. I thought you (PIRT) were comparing Maria to Postgres, when you (PIRT) were referring to Maria vs MySQL.
Both PostgreSQL and MariaDB are OSS and free; MySQL is covered with cooties and boogers, and you don’t want to get any of it on you.
Hi, I’m actually the guy you’re trying to respond to but yes that is exactly what I was trying to State
Choosing is not so much about whether it’s internet facing or not. From the programmer’s perspective and an administrator’s perspective there are pros and cons to both. As someone looking to self-host, if you want to run a service that works with either, I would make the choice based on what seems the most supported, or which one you feel the most comfortable looking up and performing administrative tasks on. I tend to use postgresql more just because I have more experience with it and can recommend it if that’s what you need, but mysql can be just as good or better in many circumstances. Pick whichever one looks easier to you.
Postgres. It’s more strict by default, which leads to a lot fewer surprises.
Here’s my rule of thumb:
- SQLite - if it’s enough
- Postgres
- MariaDB - if you don’t care about your data and just want the thing to work
- MySQL - if you sold your soul to Oracle, but still can’t afford their license fee
- Something else - you’re a hipster or have very unique requirements
You aren’t exposing the database right?
I have historically gone with PostgreSQL and had no complaints. The licensing issues concerning MySQL also give one pause (Oracle are greedy bastards who will use any excuse to extract money from captive customers, so depending on their properties is to be avoided). Having said that, these days, SQLite is probably sufficient for many workloads and has the advantage of not requiring a database server.
Postgres, hands down. It’s far better than MySQL in every way.
PostgreSQL is the more feature rich, but if you don’t care about all those features like saving and searching in json structures, Geo data structures and a to of other stuff because you have a simple APO then MySQL is good enough, maybe even SQLite.
Postgres, the extensions and open source community have been very helpful.
Postgis for images
CloudNative-pg for running DB clusters in kuberneties.
Absolutely depends on what do you want it for and what resources can you apply on it (learning, set-up, etc).
That said, MySQL is owned by Oracle. The more-or-less blessed alternative IIRC is MariaDB.
It’s not My SQL, it’s Orcales.
TheirSQL
Who’sSQL?
