Database software comparison guide...

[dawks]

Im looking for some more information of the various types of databases.. ie MS Access, MS SQL, MySQL.. so on..

I was wondering if anyone knows of something like a chart or comparison guide so I could see the pros and cons between the different types.

Right now I am very new to databases, so I know almost nothing about them.. enlighten me please!

 

[blues008]

Bump for a good idea.

 

[Brian48]

Well, there's really no comprehensive "chart" comparison. At least, none that I've ever seen. Generally of the types that I've worked with:

1. MSAccess. Easy to use, lightweight, very common with lots of resources. For small, in-house databases intended for small offices or groups. Not very robust (or stable) when it comes to large scale apps. Limited to Windows enviroment.

2. Enable. Old and out of date. Limited and kind of clunky to work with. Once again, for small groups. I doubt you'd come across this anywhere any more.

3. Sybase. Pretty robust, capable of handling larger amounts of data and users. Built into the suite of tool that come with the PowerBuilder Development kit. Was really popular about 8-10 years back, but has since died off (along with PowerBuilder). Oracle really killed them.

4. MySql. Currently playing around with it so no comment yet.

5. FOXIsapi. Very fast, can handle medium to semi-large scale applications, but it's not very popular and no one wants to program in it anymore. It also has a stability issue on some platforms (dunno why) and a very annoying and inconsistent problem with pointer handling.

6. Oracle (especially 8i and 9i). Very large (several modules), powerful, robust, and can handle huge enterprise applications. Works best under UNiX, but they have a version for other platforms. It's also extremely expensive to implement and so is the expertise.

7. Lotus Notes. Well, I'm not sure I would really consider this a database, but some people use it as such. I'm only familiar with v4.0 so later versions may be better.

8. MSSql Server. Very large, robust, can handle an enterprise application like Oracle, but I've found that it's also just as bug ridden as the rest of the Microsoft's enterprise software (does dllhost.exe raise an eyebrow with anyone out there?).

These are just my observations, of course. Some folks may have different opinions.

Anyway, here's a forum frequented by a lot of IT professionals where you might find some better answers.

http://www.experts-exchange.com

 

[AmigaMan]

FYI, the AT forums run on SQLServer 2000 I believe.