X-Original-To: pgsql-hackers@postgresql.org Received: from spampd.localdomain (postgresql.org [64.49.215.8]) by postgresql.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 42320474E4F for ; Tue, 15 Apr 2003 00:55:51 -0400 (EDT) Received: from tomts10-srv.bellnexxia.net (tomts10.bellnexxia.net [209.226.175.54]) by postgresql.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 187BF474E44 for ; Tue, 15 Apr 2003 00:55:49 -0400 (EDT) Received: from cbbrowne.com ([64.229.209.85]) by tomts10-srv.bellnexxia.net (InterMail vM.5.01.04.19 201-253-122-122-119-20020516) with ESMTP id <20030415045627.MUBR14391.tomts10-srv.bellnexxia.net@cbbrowne.com> for ; Tue, 15 Apr 2003 00:56:27 -0400 Received: from cbbrowne.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by cbbrowne.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id D29E84AF22 for ; Tue, 15 Apr 2003 00:56:12 -0400 (EDT) From: cbbrowne@cbbrowne.com To: pgsql-hackers@postgresql.org Subject: Re: Are we losing momentum? In-Reply-To: Message from "Dann Corbit" of "Mon, 14 Apr 2003 21:30:23 PDT." References: X-Mailer: MH-E 7.1; nmh 1.0.4+dev; XEmacs 21.4 Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 00:56:12 -0400 Message-Id: <20030415045612.D29E84AF22@cbbrowne.com> X-Spam-Status: No, hits=-29.5 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_10,EMAIL_ATTRIBUTION,IN_REP_TO,NO_REAL_NAME, QUOTED_EMAIL_TEXT,RCVD_IN_NJABL,REFERENCES, REPLY_WITH_QUOTES autolearn=ham version=2.50 X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.50 (1.173-2003-02-20-exp) X-Archive-Number: 200304/474 X-Sequence-Number: 37964 Dann Corbit wrote: > There are clearly places where PostgreSQL does have a distinct > advantage. Price a 1000 user system for SQL*Server and PostgreSQL and > you will see that we can hire a couple of DBA's just for the price > difference. Since you can purchase PostgreSQL support, that is no > longer a significant advantage for MS. Start looking at "Enterprise" licenses for any of the big guys and the pricing does get pretty scary. > And about MySQL: It's also commercial. You are not supposed to use it > except for a single machine for personal use unless you are a > non-profit organization or unless absolutely everything you do is > GPL[1]. On the one hand, if they are calling it "Open Source", then this is NOT a fair statement. On the other hand, if you look at their web site, they certainly do tip their hat to the FUD/Paranoia about the "infectiveness" of the GPL. They don't expressly say: "Yes, you should be paranoid about the GPL because it infects anything it ever touches with some frightening license virus worse than SARS." Instead, they loudly use the line "... for users who prefer not to be restricted by the terms of the GPL", of course, neither confirming or denying any particular paranoia about what the impact of those terms may or may not be. > Hence, you have to license it to deploy applications. In order to > have transactions, you have to use another commercial product that > they bolt into MySQL -- Sleepycat software's database. Now you have > two license systems to worry about. Incorrect. You have to use another commercial product that they bolt onto MySQL -- InnoDB, from the Norwegian company, Innobase. Sleepycat DB was used to prototype the notion of having transactions, but since that introduces Yet Another Continent to the set of licensing complications, and probably wasn't sufficiently 'in their interests,' it's not the Preferred Transactional Engine... -- (reverse (concatenate 'string "moc.enworbbc@" "enworbbc")) http://cbbrowne.com/info/oses.html Rules of the Evil Overlord #217. "If I'm wearing the key to the hero's shackles around my neck and his former girlfriend now volunteers to become my mistress and we are all alone in my bedchamber on my bed and she offers me a goblet of wine, I will politely decline the offer."