On 06/23/2011 10:28 PM, Stephen Frost wrote:
Next, PG doesn't even use the same basic technology as Oracle regarding I stole some inspiration from this comment for my own response, which I just posted to the site. I'll save a copy here in case the author becomes so embarrassed by his mistakes he deletes it: The idea that PostgreSQL is reverse engineered from Oracle is ridiculous. Just a look at the vast differences in the MVCC implementation of the two; Oracle's redo logs vs. PostgreSQL WAL are completely difference designs. As for there being no unique features in PostgreSQL, that's completely wrong too. A good example is how deep the transactional DDL features go--Oracle has started to catch up recently, but PostgreSQL still has a lead there. The ability extend the type system and indexes with your own custom items are also better in PostgreSQL than any other database. This is why the PostGIS add-on (built using the type extension facility) is busy displacing installations of the weaker Oracle Spatial at installations all over the world right now. As for support, there are half a dozen companies in the world you can buy PostgreSQL support from at a fraction of the rate Oracle charges for it. I routinely fix bugs in the database itself within hours of report for my customers, as part of a service contract, which is an option on top of the free community support. Because PostgreSQL is open-source, there are multiple vendors available who provide this service. With Oracle as a closed source product, there can only be one who is capable of offering this quality of support. And that single source vendor has quite a history of squeezing as many dollars out of its customers as its can. Since there is choice among PostgreSQL support companies, you'll never get into that position with it. -- Greg Smith 2ndQuadrant US greg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Baltimore, MD PostgreSQL Training, Services, and 24x7 Support www.2ndQuadrant.us "PostgreSQL 9.0 High Performance": http://www.2ndQuadrant.com/books |
