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Is there some edge to Oracle compared to the FOSS stuff that I'm not aware? One is that there is still a lot of third party (or in house) software out there th

by dagw 4y ago

Is there some edge to Oracle compared to the FOSS stuff that I'm not aware? One is that there is still a lot of third party (or in house) software out there that doesn't support any of the FOSS databases for its backend. So if you depend on one of those tools then you're not only replacing Oracle, but a bunch of additional software as well. In fact very few people choose Oracle in a vacuum. They 'choose' one of these software platforms and then end up with Oracle. Every time I've worked with Oracle it was because we wanted to/had to use some software that had to use Oracle. Another point is that there are very few really large PostgreSQL database deployments out there and very few people who have any experience working with huge Postgres databases, while Oracle has been doing that for a long time. If you need 100s of TB in a data warehouse there are hardly any FOSS systems out there with any sort of track record, while for Oracle it is their bread and butter. That being said, the only people I know still deploying new Oracle systems today are people supporting legacy systems. Even the former pro Oracle people I know are using Postgres these days for almost everything, if only to get away from Oracle's licensing bullshit.

throwaway2037 4y ago
I agree 100% with the "100s of TB" comment. More: If you find a bug in the database, they will fix it ASAP -- sometimes 24 hours or less then will send a patch. (I have seen it more than once in my career, and I am not a super databasey person.) Of course, you pay dearly, but that part is good value for businesses where "the DB is the biz". Businesses that come to mind are telco, utilities (elec, water, gas, etc.), retail/commercial banks, insurance, hospitals, pharma, universities, gov't. In the extreme, they can generate TBs of data per day.
- flaviut 4y ago
  > If you find a bug in the database, they will fix it ASAP -- sometimes 24 hours or less then will send a patch On the other hand, there's this legendary description of what working at Oracle is like: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18442941 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18442941
  - MangoCoffee 4y ago
    what does that gotta do with what he said?
    - flaviut 4y ago
      How are they going to send a patch in 24 hours if their test suite takes 20 to 30 hours for a single execution, and any given change causes 100-1000 tests to fail?
      - throwaway2037 4y ago
        The bugs I saw were in query compilation and execution. They probably only run a portion of the test pack.
- kneebonian 4y ago
  Counterpoint. I had a client that used a non-DB oracle product that was a barely functional monstrosity that required the client to keep around a windows XP XM to run a version of IE that could access the console. They spent 3 years trying to upgrade to the new version, even had Oracle professional services come in to help them with the migration, and they couldn't upgrade because the new version of the product was unusable because of bugs and performance, and the old version was a barely functional turd that had to be restarted multiple times a day. At the end of it all after a multi-year (expensive) engagement Oracle basically just said "That sucks LOL make sure your payment isn't late". So maybe for the DB they are responsive but generally I've found their willingness to help customers similar to a lions willingness to help a wounded gazelle.

by dagw 4y ago

throwaway2037 4y ago

I agree 100% with the "100s of TB" comment. More: If you find a bug in the database, they will fix it ASAP -- sometimes 24 hours or less then will send a patch. (I have seen it more than once in my career, and I am not a super databasey person.) Of course, you pay dearly, but that part is good value for businesses where "the DB is the biz". Businesses that come to mind are telco, utilities (elec, water, gas, etc.), retail/commercial banks, insurance, hospitals, pharma, universities, gov't. In the extreme, they can generate TBs of data per day.

flaviut 4y ago
> If you find a bug in the database, they will fix it ASAP -- sometimes 24 hours or less then will send a patch On the other hand, there's this legendary description of what working at Oracle is like: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18442941 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18442941
- MangoCoffee 4y ago
  what does that gotta do with what he said?
  - flaviut 4y ago
    How are they going to send a patch in 24 hours if their test suite takes 20 to 30 hours for a single execution, and any given change causes 100-1000 tests to fail?
    - throwaway2037 4y ago
      The bugs I saw were in query compilation and execution. They probably only run a portion of the test pack.
kneebonian 4y ago
Counterpoint. I had a client that used a non-DB oracle product that was a barely functional monstrosity that required the client to keep around a windows XP XM to run a version of IE that could access the console. They spent 3 years trying to upgrade to the new version, even had Oracle professional services come in to help them with the migration, and they couldn't upgrade because the new version of the product was unusable because of bugs and performance, and the old version was a barely functional turd that had to be restarted multiple times a day. At the end of it all after a multi-year (expensive) engagement Oracle basically just said "That sucks LOL make sure your payment isn't late". So maybe for the DB they are responsive but generally I've found their willingness to help customers similar to a lions willingness to help a wounded gazelle.