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As a software engineer that worked with a lot of different databases in the last 20 years I have come to believe that PostgreSQL is even better than Oracle (thi

As a software engineer that worked with a lot of different databases in the last 20 years I have come to believe that PostgreSQL is even better than Oracle (this will certainly spark some fires). I have had shit with a lot of databases but never with PostgreSQL. MySQL has some really nasty documented and undocumented "features" so I rather avoid that database. It has it's place in the universe but it's in on a different plane of existence than mine

alentred 4y ago
Some 5 years ago I worked with a DBA, Oracle DBA more precisely, who told me that PostgreSQL is generally better than Oracle. At the same time, he wouldn't switch to PostgreSQL because... drumroll... he wouldn't have a job as a PostgreSQL DBA, because it is just simpler. Oracle DB, according to him, was more complex and harder to manage, and Oracle built entire offering around it: training, certifications, etc., which sustains the ecosystem.
tootie 4y ago
When I started in the biz around 2000 any serious tech business running Oracle or maybe SQL Server if they were MS stack. Oracle was miles ahead of everyone else. In the last ten years I don't think I've seen a single org that still runs Oracle. It's legacy at this point. SQL server has surprisingly hung on, but everyone else is using something open source or something cloud.
- KronisLV 4y ago
  > In the last ten years I don't think I've seen a single org that still runs Oracle. Over here in Latvia, I've seen orgs that run Oracle and are still starting new projects in it, because that's what they know best and presumably have the licensing all figured out. Admittedly, their automatic indexing and a few other features in the recent releases are useful. However, in practice it's easier to work with PostgreSQL and MySQL/MariaDB, because of how easy it is to launch either, be it locally or on a server, thanks to the availability of container images. Even if you can launch Oracle XE or something like it in containers, provided that you get your hands on such containers, there will still be challenges in regards to startup time, resource usage and various other quirks. But hey, for people that don't need to use that approach, I guess nobody ever got fired for picking IBM, Microsoft or even Oracle. Personally I'd just go for PostgreSQL/MySQL/MariaDB in most cases because of the ease of use.
juancn 4y ago
I agree, since version 9-ish PostgreSQL is likely a better default choice of database than any other competitor (commercial or otherwise), unless you have some weird workload.

alentred 4y ago

Some 5 years ago I worked with a DBA, Oracle DBA more precisely, who told me that PostgreSQL is generally better than Oracle. At the same time, he wouldn't switch to PostgreSQL because... drumroll... he wouldn't have a job as a PostgreSQL DBA, because it is just simpler. Oracle DB, according to him, was more complex and harder to manage, and Oracle built entire offering around it: training, certifications, etc., which sustains the ecosystem.

tootie 4y ago

When I started in the biz around 2000 any serious tech business running Oracle or maybe SQL Server if they were MS stack. Oracle was miles ahead of everyone else. In the last ten years I don't think I've seen a single org that still runs Oracle. It's legacy at this point. SQL server has surprisingly hung on, but everyone else is using something open source or something cloud.

KronisLV 4y ago
> In the last ten years I don't think I've seen a single org that still runs Oracle. Over here in Latvia, I've seen orgs that run Oracle and are still starting new projects in it, because that's what they know best and presumably have the licensing all figured out. Admittedly, their automatic indexing and a few other features in the recent releases are useful. However, in practice it's easier to work with PostgreSQL and MySQL/MariaDB, because of how easy it is to launch either, be it locally or on a server, thanks to the availability of container images. Even if you can launch Oracle XE or something like it in containers, provided that you get your hands on such containers, there will still be challenges in regards to startup time, resource usage and various other quirks. But hey, for people that don't need to use that approach, I guess nobody ever got fired for picking IBM, Microsoft or even Oracle. Personally I'd just go for PostgreSQL/MySQL/MariaDB in most cases because of the ease of use.

juancn 4y ago

I agree, since version 9-ish PostgreSQL is likely a better default choice of database than any other competitor (commercial or otherwise), unless you have some weird workload.