Re: drupal.org MySQL database issues

Joshua D. Drake wrote:
> Andrew Sullivan wrote:
>> On Thu, May 17, 2007 at 05:16:36PM -0400, Jonah H. Harris wrote:
>>
>>> In this thread, I've seen several people say something to the effect
>>> of, "why is PostgreSQL harder to use than MySQL?"  IMHO, it's
>>> difficult for us to answer that question because we're all experienced
>>> with PostgreSQL and have somewhat biased opinions on what it takes to
>>> administer and manage PostgreSQL compared with other systems.
>>
>> I agree, but we do seem to have some people who are saying "MySQL is
>> easier to use with Cpanel or Plesk than is PostgreSQL."  Exactly one
>> of those people has taken me up on my request to outline _how_ it is
>> easier.  So far, it sounds to me like the main complaint is that
>> pg_hba.conf is on the filesystem, which makes it hard to use.  I
>> agree with Josh Drake on that one: if that's the _real_ barrier, it
>> shouldn't be that hard to hack up some module to make it work better.
>> But I don't know whether that is in fact the problem, and nobody
>> seems to be confirming or denying that that's the issue.
>
> It can be. The problem with Cpanel or Plesk is they assume there is no
> access to the filesystem by the end user. So it is certainly easier for
> a Cpanel or Plesk to just use MySQL because MySQL allows all control
> directly from the database and thus whatever Cpanel or Plesk uses to
> connect to the database.
>
> So enabling pg_hba.conf (and frankly postgresql.conf) to be managed from
> the DB could be a boon. It would certainly make my life as a DBA easier.

It can be using pgAdmin and the adminpack - there's no reason why
phpPgAdmin couldn't do that as well. Admittedly it's not an nice API
that anyone less tightly tied to PostgreSQL would likely want to use.

Still, I guess I'm missing something though because if you can't access
the database because pg_hba.conf is setup incorrectly, how does allowing
you to edit it through PG help you fix the problem?? Surely the answer
is for the host/Cpanel to setup sensible defaults at installation or
database/user creation time?

Regards, Dave.