Re: [GENERAL] New FAQ item - Mailing list pgsql-general

> actually, via refint, you do have foreign keys.

True, but people just want Foreign Key to work from within their SQL
commands.

>
> > [SNIP]
> >           In comparison to MySQL or leaner database systems, we are
> >           slower because we have transaction overhead. We are built for
> >           flexibility and features, not speed, though we continue to
> >           improve performance through profiling and source code analysis.
>
> id rephrase this to include 'inserts/updates' -- 6.5 is comparable to
> mysql for selects, given the proper indexes.

Done.

> id also stress that postgres supports (fully?) SQL92, triggers,
> transactions, subselects, views, etc; these features are currently
> unimplemented in mysql and msql ( does anyone still _use_ msql?  3hours
> for a 2 table join was just a big nono ).

Done.

> or maybe instead of comparing to mysql/msql, compare pgsql to oracle,
> sybase, informix, et al.  much cleaner comparison there, seeing
> that mysql/msql dont support triggers, transactions, etc.

Yes, I agree we compare much more easily to the big guys, but that
information may not be getting out as much as it should, so we have to
include the obvious MySQL comparison.

New text attached.  Copy on the web site too.

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    1.14) How does PostgreSQL compare to other DBMS's?

   There are several ways of measuring software: features, performance,
   reliability, support, and price.

   Features
          PostgreSQL has most features present in large commercial
          DBMS's, like transactions, subselects, triggers, views, and
          sophisticated locking. We have some features they don't have,
          like user-defined types, inheritance, rules, and multi-version
          concurrency control to reduce lock contention. We don't have
          foreign key referential integrity or outer joins, but are
          working on them for our next release.

   Performance
          PostgreSQL runs in two modes. Normal fsync mode flushes every
          completed transaction to disk, guaranteeing that if the OS
          crashes or looses power in the next few seconds, all your data
          is safely stored on disk. In this mode, we are slower than most
          commercial databases, partly because few of them do such
          conservative flushing to disk in their default modes. In
          no-fsync mode, we are usually faster than commercial databases,
          though in this mode, an OS crash could cause data corruption.
          We are working to provide an intermediate mode that suffers
          from less performance overhead than full fsync mode, and will
          allow data integrity within 30 seconds of an OS crash. The mode
          is select-able by the database administrator.

          In comparison to MySQL or leaner database systems, we are
          slower on inserts/updates because we have transaction overhead.
          Of course, MySQL doesn't have any of the features mentioned in
          the Features section above. We are built for flexibility and
          features, not speed, though we continue to improve performance
          through profiling and source code analysis.

   Reliability
          We realize that a DBMS must be reliable, or it is worthless. We
          strive to release well-tested, stable code that has a minimum
          of bugs. Each release has at least one month of beta testing,
          and our release history shows that we can provide stable, solid
          releases that are ready for production use. We believe we
          compare favorably to other database software in this area.

   Support
          Our mailing list provides a large group of developers and users
          to help resolve any problems encountered. While we can not
          guarantee a fix, commercial DBMS's don't always supply a fix
          either. Direct access to developers, the user community,
          manuals, and the source code often make PostgreSQL support
          superior to other DBMS's. There is commercial per-incident
          support available for those who need it. (See support FAQ
          item.)

   Price
          We are free for all use, both commercial and non-commercial.
          You can add our code to your product with no limitations,
          except those outlined in our BSD-style license stated above.