Re: Is PostgreSQL ready for mission critical applications?

The Hermit Hacker <scrappy@hub.org> wrote:
: [...]
: take a look at:
: [list deleted]
: Each one of those is mission critical to the person using it, and, in some
: cases, I'd say to the ppl that they affect (Utility Billing and POS System
: are the two that come to mind there)...
: [...]

Well, there are millions of people using Microsoft products for mission
critical applications. I would never do that. :-) Maybe my standards are higher
or my applications different. So this list really doesn't say much. The
problem with databases in general is, that my standards for them are way
higher then for most other pieces of software. If my web server failes, I
restart it. If a mail server fails, I restart it, if syslog failes, I don't
have a log file. But if a database failes, it is generally a lot more trouble.
On the other hand a database is generally, apart from the kernel, the most
complex thing running on your servers...

: Quite frankly, I think the fact that Jochen is still around *even though*
: he has problems says alot about the quality of both the software and the
: development processes that we've developed over the past year, and also
: gives a good indication of where we are going...

This is true. Despite of the problems I had with PostgreSQL, the system
I am using it for still runs PostgreSQL and it sort of works. We have to
reload the database every once in a while, and some of the triggers, I would
like to have, don't work. But basically it works. If you don't have the
money to go for a commercial database, PostgreSQL is not a bad option. But
don't think that everything with PostgreSQL is as bright, like some of the
postings make you believe. Watch your database for performance and other
problems, don't forget the backups and think about how to build your
application that it failes gracefully if the database screws up.

If you have an Oracle database you don't do that, you hire a DBA for it.
There is no way you can do it yourself. :-)

Jochen
--
Jochen Topf - jochen@remote.org - http://www.remote.org/jochen/