Oracle vs. MySQL vs. SQL Server vs. PostGRESQL:
Which DBMS Is The Best Choice For You?
There’s always been some contention over which SQL database tool is superior. Every administrator has their preferences, and every programmer has their own unique way of dealing with code. For that reason, if you ask five different sysadmins which platform they prefer, you’re like to receive five different answers.
Let’s see if we can’t help you come to your own answer.
Today, we’re going to look at some of the major database management systems currently available on the web in regards to their pros and cons. Once we’ve worked that part out, we’ll offer up a few recommendations as to which projects each one is best-suited for. Let’s dive right in.
Oracle
- Closed-source; free version has very limited feature set
- Temporary tables persist across sessions, and must be removed by the user
- Support for four different character/string types: CHAR, VARCHAR2, NCHAR, NVARCHAR2
- Offers both table and row locking
- Extensive and flexible storage customization with commands like tablespace, synonym, and packages
- Extensive backup mechanisms
- Designed to manage tables and databases on a large-scale basis
MySQL
- Open-source
- Compatible with a wide range of engines and interfaces; one of the most mature databases on the market
- Lightweight
- One of the most popular database tools; easy to find support online
- Temporary tables are only visible within the current active session, and are removed automatically afterwards.
- Lacks ACID compliance
- Can partition tables via LIST, HASH, RANGE, and SET
- Support for two different character/string types: CHAR and VARCHAR
- Offers only table locking
- Lacks options for table views
- Limited storage customization
- Admin tools are incredibly powerful
- Two backup mechanisms: mysqlhotcopy and mysqldump
- Experiences significant performance degradation at high scale.
