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MySQL is popular because it's easy to use (in the same sense as PHP), easy to setup, and has a lot of tutorials written for it. Also speed used to be a pretty b

by clessg 11y ago

MySQL is popular because it's easy to use (in the same sense as PHP), easy to setup, and has a lot of tutorials written for it. Also speed used to be a pretty big factor, but that was only because MyISAM took shortcuts with data consistency. If you care about your data and would rather not deal with the many problems MySQL inevitably brings, then Postgres is the better option. I can't say I've seen many compelling reasons to use MySQL over Postgres other than "what if we need to replace you with a freelance PHP guy", "I want to pay lower wages", and "I want to use phpmyadmin". (Btw: check out Sequel Pro and Querious!) Popularity isn't a very good reason to choose something. Postgres will remain a juggernaut for a long time. Unless you really think there's a good chance you'll need to hire somebody that only knows MySQL, then I'd go with Postgres.

tracker1 11y ago
Given I haven't done anything with it in nearly 7 years now.. but every time I've touched MySQL for anything, there was always a quirky behavior that bit me in the ass that no other dbms does... Postgres, MS-SQL, Firebird, Oracle, DB2 are all better options in my mind... unless you need a good replication story, without a pricey support contract, then Postgres and Firebird are sadly out of the running imho.
spudlyo 11y ago
That may be why MySQL is popular for small installations, but that's not why it's popular with companies like Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Pinterest who run replicated clusters that number in the thousands. It's popular at scale because unlike Postgres, it has replication that is well understood, is reliable, and isn't a massive pain in the ass to operate.
- Jweb_Guru 11y ago
  Please point me to the well-understood, reliable replication solution for MySQL (I'll agree about pain in the ass to operate re: Postgres, but you might want to check out aphyr's recent posts).

by clessg 11y ago

tracker1 11y ago

Given I haven't done anything with it in nearly 7 years now.. but every time I've touched MySQL for anything, there was always a quirky behavior that bit me in the ass that no other dbms does... Postgres, MS-SQL, Firebird, Oracle, DB2 are all better options in my mind... unless you need a good replication story, without a pricey support contract, then Postgres and Firebird are sadly out of the running imho.

spudlyo 11y ago

That may be why MySQL is popular for small installations, but that's not why it's popular with companies like Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Pinterest who run replicated clusters that number in the thousands. It's popular at scale because unlike Postgres, it has replication that is well understood, is reliable, and isn't a massive pain in the ass to operate.

Jweb_Guru 11y ago
Please point me to the well-understood, reliable replication solution for MySQL (I'll agree about pain in the ass to operate re: Postgres, but you might want to check out aphyr's recent posts).