Re: PostgreSQL versus MySQL

On the contrary, MySQL is much better at handling table crashes and data corruption than PostgreSQL is. What you may have heard is that due to lack of transaction support, critical data may be lost "in transit" from your application to the database, in the event of a system crash or a dropped connection. Well, guess what? MySQL now supports transactions in its latest release. Using transactions is probably not really needed though, unless your data is critical, such as credit card numbers. As for a full comparison between the two, I think the bottom line is that MySQL is slightly more light-weight, but easier to use and faster than PostgreSQL. So if you're looking for a database for a relatively noncritical web application, I'd say go with MySQL, especially since that's what you already have experience with. One of the upcoming features in MySQL I'm really looking forward to is query caching, which is a great feature for web applications. Jon Valvatne > Can someone outline the differences between the two? I am partial to MySQL > from experience but want to get a good view of why one is better than the > other. > > Also, I've heard that you will lose data with MySQL if a system failure > should occur. > > Thanks. > > Matt