RE: Oracle alternatives
- From: "Goulet, Dick" <DGoulet@xxxxxxxx>
- To: "Oracle-L Freelists" <oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 4 May 2005 14:43:30 -0400
For the benefit of those who may not be able to see the SearchOracle
site, sorry I was restricted to 600 words or less. Could have gone 10
times that without really trying.
There are a lot of us who consider working with Oracle as a higher
calling. I for one have spent the last 20 years of my life with Oracle.
But have we been too dedicated? How many of us have taken a tour of
the Grey Side? No I'm not talking about the Dark Side of DB2 or
Sql*Server, but the Grey Side of Open Source. Certainly Oracle is the
Cadillac of database management systems, but at a Platinum price. I'm
sure you've heard Oracle's mantra of running 10g on "commodity" priced
Linux servers. Well, that's a good idea. A good Intel based server
can be had for $3,000 to $5,000. Add in a copy of Red Hat Linux for
$1,000 and you've got a server. Now you want to add in a copy of
Oracle? Well keep your wallet out cause that's going to set you back
$15,000 to $40,000 depending on which edition you get Standard or
Enterprise. Of course there's more to licensing Oracle than that and I
could go on and on about that, but didn't you load Red Hat Linux on that
severs? Did you know that there's a free Open Source database system
included? It's called PostGreSql. Want to store normalized data,
create stored functions, store Java or C code inside the database even
use a Pl/Sql equivalent? It's all there already without you asking the
boss for a dime. You might even find a copy of another database engine
on those cd's called MySql. . MySql, while the advertised preference
of many web sites (I seriously wonder about that) has a significant
number of holes, which I'll admit they are working to plug. Of most
importance is their native lack of ACID compliance. Sure you can add in
Innodb support(also open source), but then you have to remember to
specify that when creating a table. ACID compliance is a core
functionality of all other databases. Its what guarantees that a
transaction is complete. Take the old case of transferring funds
between bank accounts. We assume that the add to the target account
happens in conjunction with the debit on the source & that the source
has sufficient funds available. With out ACID compliance each is a
separate transaction. If one succeeds and the other fails, that's OK
with MySql!! MySql also has no roll forward recovery. Your last cold
backup is as far as it goes. Now lets do give credit where credit is
due, MySql is FAST on data retrieval and the company supporting MySql is
committed to retaining that, at all costs. But in my mind, of what use
is a fast query engine if I can't guarantee data integrity? A right
answer is always better than a questionable answer given in half the
time. Also there's the question of cost. MySql runs under a dual
license. Use it for non-commercial purposes for free. Use it for a
commercial purpose and MySql AB wants their half pound of flesh. And
what is/ is not a commercial purpose is subject to interpretation.
.PostGreSql though can be had for free no matter the application. Add
in PHP and Apache, also on that same cd, and you've got the makings of a
free, open source web site. Try to do that as cost effectively with
Oracle & 9IAS! True, Oracle has a lot more to it, but open source is
catching up. PostGreSql 8 has tablespaces, roll forward recovery,
inheritance, international character support, and even time zone
support. Now I'm not saying that PostGreSql is a replacement for
Oracle, but it's gotten to the point where one really needs to take a
careful look. So come on in, the waters fine!
-----Original Message-----
From: Mohan, Ross [mailto:RMohan@xxxxxxxxxxx]=20
Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2005 12:17 PM
To: Goulet, Dick
Subject: RE: Oracle alternatives
Dick, can't read this. Did you write it? I have just started
working w/PG and would appreciate a copy if you did author it..
the crappy SearchOracle site is registration, which I can't
stand...
-----Original Message-----
From: oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Goulet, Dick
Your Welcome!=3D20
-----Original Message-----
From: oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jared Still
Here's a guest editorial by one of Oracle-L's more outspoken open source
proponents.
Particularly when it comes to PostgreSQL. :)
http://searchoracle.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid41_gci1074646,00.html
?track=3D3DNL-338&ad=3D3D513047
--=3D20
Jared Still
Certifiable Oracle DBA and Part Time Perl Evangelist
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