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The simple answer is to use PostgreSQL, unless you have a good reason not to. There are definitely cases where PostgreSQL is not the optimal choice, but if you

The simple answer is to use PostgreSQL, unless you have a good reason not to. There are definitely cases where PostgreSQL is not the optimal choice, but if you don't know why you're not a good match for Postgres, you're probably not in that group.

daigoba66 12y ago
Postgres, and MSSQL if you can afford it, are the Swiss Army Knives of database systems. And I mean that in a good way.
- takeda 12y ago
  For a second I thought you said MySQL and was a bit puzzled. I know indirectly that MSSQL is quite good database, but since you are putting Open Source and proprietary database next to each other it makes me wonder why you picked MSSQL and for example skipped its competitor such as Oracle. This is an honest question, I know very little about MSSQL or Oracle so I'm curious why you picked this one. I know that at least 10 years ago MSSQL and Oracle were close competitors, did Oracle lose their race?
  - daigoba66 12y ago
    I mentioned MSSQL specifically because of personal experience with it over the past 8 years. I see PostgreSQL as the best open source alternative. I have little to no experience with Oracle, so I can't speak for it, but I suspect it's just as functional and preformant.
  - matwood 12y ago
    MSSQL can be a great value for the money if you need all of the additional tools (SSIS, MSAS), and you are already in a Windows environment. For a straight rdbms, pg is a great solution. Oracle is something you only use when you have reached some problem that only Oracle can solve. Even then, I would still try to work around Oracle. It is expensive and requires a large amount of tuning to make work well. Oh, and pretend MySQL doesn't exist.
    - thorin 12y ago
      I've used Oracle since 1998 and SQLServer since early 2000s. Oracle has great defaults now and the free version is very good. Licenses for MSSQL and Oracle can be competitive - obviously if you are a MS shop SQLServer will become cheap(er) in comparison. I prefer Oracle because I know it better and I sometimes work with *nix. PL/SQL packages are far better than the comparable stored procedures in MSSQL. APEX is pretty unique too. If I was starting on an open source or startup project with a modern web framework I definitely be looking at using Postgres - it looks great.
      - matwood 12y ago
        Fair enough. It has been awhile since I used Oracle and we used to joke that the defaults were set such that you had to hire Oracle as a consultant to set up the db and tune it :) Clearly competition has helped there. If I was starting on an open source or startup project with a modern web framework I definitely be looking at using Postgres - it looks great. I'm in complete agreement, if I was starting a new project today pg would be the default to decide why not to use.
        thorin 12y ago
        Actually if I was starting something from scratch AND I needed to get something done quick AND I had an Oracle licence/host I'd use Oracle APEX. http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/developer-tools/apex/overview/index-155186.html http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/developer-tools/apex/overv... Which as an oracle user and pl/sql programmer is a great way to build an app quickly. I guess if I was building something (quickly) from OS I'd use Django or Java Spring or Grails.
  - threeseed 12y ago
    Everyone avoids MSSQL, Oracle, DB2, Teradata etc these days not for any technical reasons. It purely comes down to cost. Both in the short term and the long term. Even in enterprises its becoming hard to justify the vendor, consulting and hardware costs.

daigoba66 12y ago

Postgres, and MSSQL if you can afford it, are the Swiss Army Knives of database systems. And I mean that in a good way.

takeda 12y ago
For a second I thought you said MySQL and was a bit puzzled. I know indirectly that MSSQL is quite good database, but since you are putting Open Source and proprietary database next to each other it makes me wonder why you picked MSSQL and for example skipped its competitor such as Oracle. This is an honest question, I know very little about MSSQL or Oracle so I'm curious why you picked this one. I know that at least 10 years ago MSSQL and Oracle were close competitors, did Oracle lose their race?
- daigoba66 12y ago
  I mentioned MSSQL specifically because of personal experience with it over the past 8 years. I see PostgreSQL as the best open source alternative. I have little to no experience with Oracle, so I can't speak for it, but I suspect it's just as functional and preformant.
- matwood 12y ago
  MSSQL can be a great value for the money if you need all of the additional tools (SSIS, MSAS), and you are already in a Windows environment. For a straight rdbms, pg is a great solution. Oracle is something you only use when you have reached some problem that only Oracle can solve. Even then, I would still try to work around Oracle. It is expensive and requires a large amount of tuning to make work well. Oh, and pretend MySQL doesn't exist.
  - thorin 12y ago
    I've used Oracle since 1998 and SQLServer since early 2000s. Oracle has great defaults now and the free version is very good. Licenses for MSSQL and Oracle can be competitive - obviously if you are a MS shop SQLServer will become cheap(er) in comparison. I prefer Oracle because I know it better and I sometimes work with *nix. PL/SQL packages are far better than the comparable stored procedures in MSSQL. APEX is pretty unique too. If I was starting on an open source or startup project with a modern web framework I definitely be looking at using Postgres - it looks great.
    - matwood 12y ago
      Fair enough. It has been awhile since I used Oracle and we used to joke that the defaults were set such that you had to hire Oracle as a consultant to set up the db and tune it :) Clearly competition has helped there. If I was starting on an open source or startup project with a modern web framework I definitely be looking at using Postgres - it looks great. I'm in complete agreement, if I was starting a new project today pg would be the default to decide why not to use.
      - thorin 12y ago
        Actually if I was starting something from scratch AND I needed to get something done quick AND I had an Oracle licence/host I'd use Oracle APEX. http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/developer-tools/apex/overview/index-155186.html http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/developer-tools/apex/overv... Which as an oracle user and pl/sql programmer is a great way to build an app quickly. I guess if I was building something (quickly) from OS I'd use Django or Java Spring or Grails.
- threeseed 12y ago
  Everyone avoids MSSQL, Oracle, DB2, Teradata etc these days not for any technical reasons. It purely comes down to cost. Both in the short term and the long term. Even in enterprises its becoming hard to justify the vendor, consulting and hardware costs.