Dangers of using MYSQL...What are they?

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Dangers of using MYSQL...What are they?

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Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004191 More actions · Answer 1

DBADave (9/23/2008)
Sounds like our DBA team won't be able to offer any arguments against it.
Thanks for the quick response.
Dave

Actually there is an argument against it. It's not the same as all the rest of your stuff. Consider bringing Word Perfect or Lotus 123 in house. They wouldn't hear of it yet the only difference is, it's different.

Tell them to use SQL Express or MSDE if they want "free". At least that's in the same ballpark.

And, keep in mind that "different" also means "expensive" when it comes to intangible costs like different systems and "talking" to that different system, not to mention learning curves, etc, ad infinitum.

Heh... if you really wanna see a train wreck caused by "different", take a look at my last company where they made the huge mistake of writing the new OSS in Oracle instead of what the billing engine was written in... SQL Server. HUGE mistake!

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

Steve Jones - SSC Editor SSC Guru Points: 735712 More actions · Answer 2

The argument is a lack of skills, which requires time and money to get up to speed, or you incur risk that you won't be able to manage or recover the server.

homebrew01 SSC Guru Points: 55546 More actions · Answer 3

At my last company, were told that the new web app was going to be WAMP ... we didn't get to vote. I just took it as an opportunity to learn something new and find out for myself what MySQL was like. Other than setting up backups and a few glitches, I didn't do much with it, but I'm glad I learned the little bit that I did. However, my new place is 100 % SQL Server which is fine with me.

sgmunson SSC Guru Points: 110639 More actions · Answer 4

I recently attended a computer user group meeting, and had the owner of a very small ISP tell me that MySQL outperforms SQL Server to a considerable degree, which I took with a considerable grain of salt. He was very negative about SQL, claiming it was a resource pig and that it was slower than molasses. I suspect he has no idea how to properly configure and manage a SQL Server. Given that MySQL doesn't require much effort to set up, I suspect that's the real grief, as it seems likely he's not willing to spend time to get SQL done right. I also wonder whether he personally tested it, or had some completely unskilled customer tell him that.

Given that I have yet to use MySQL for more than a very temporary website with minimal data, I don't really have more than that grain of salt I referred to, to go on. Comments?

Steve

(aka smunson)

:):):)

Steve (aka sgmunson) 🙂 🙂 🙂
Rent Servers for Income (picks and shovels strategy)

jgrubb SSCrazy Points: 2542 More actions · Answer 5

I've used it both as an embedded DB, and as a "real" db backend. There are several things that are good, some are pretty scary. If you develop/integrate on it, you need to be aware that it has some design choices that stem from it's origin. The early team not only didn't implement, but thought that integrity, Triggers, Stored Procs and views were BAD and had no business being in the DB. They are still catching up. V5 was the first one that had all of these, and they still have some limitations.

They have different storage engines, but they introduce behaviors that the application needs to be aware of. Examples, They have an ISAM storage engine which kicks serious butt performance wise, but has only table locking and no RI. They have a Network Storage model which can distribute the data, but doesn't support FKs. Use INNODB if possible, it supports most of the features you are used to in SQL Server.

Maintenance can be simple or complex, depending on the storage engine. ISAM is just a file copy. Each table is file. INNODB, you do a backup like SQL.

Don't be afraid of it, but budget time or money for training. Learn how to support it, because if it's decision support, your gonna feel it if there's down time. I'd also consider buying support if it's mission critical.

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004191 More actions · Answer 6

BWAHA!... and they say it's "free". 😉

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

jgrubb SSCrazy Points: 2542 More actions · Answer 7

TANSTAAFL (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch). I do want to stress (disarming Trolls) that is not useless, just different. It is not a direct plugin to replace SQL Server or any of the "Top Tier" DB's as a GP DBMS.

I'd say it's less standards compliant the SQL Server, for example. I'd question running a OLTP application on it. If I had datadriven (Esp. Linux/PHP) Website, it would be a top choice, with the ISAM storage engine. Storing any transaction data elsewhere, by preference.

If I had to go with an Open Source DB for an OLTP type application, I'd look toward PostgreSQL, especially since it has a PL/SQL plugin that can allow you to leverage triggers and procs from Oracle. Also has something similar to the CLR, in that you can make routines in TCL, perl and Python and run them as SQL Functions.

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004191 More actions · Answer 8

:hehe: If you have SQL Server, you don't need CLR's or any of that other stuff with the exception of maybe some RegExReplace. 🙂

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

jgrubb SSCrazy Points: 2542 More actions · Answer 9

Not recommending you dive into CLR functions. I agree they are for special circumstances at best. How ever, it does have a good sql engine, and the option is there for other languages. I just kinda think that Postgres doesn't get the respect it deserves, in the open source community. I think it is a better option to replace a First tier DB than MySQL.

Steve Jones - SSC Editor SSC Guru Points: 735712 More actions · Answer 10

I think PostgreSQL is a more mature product. But mySQL proves that it can handle loads. The thing is you need the talent that Yahoo and others have, and most of us don't have top notch MySQL talent if we're running SQL Server.

jgrubb SSCrazy Points: 2542 More actions · Answer 11

Amen about the talent question. A standard feature of Open Source is that you need more expertise to create and administer a given architecture. Unfortunately, it appears that many O-S advocates prefer it that way.

sgmunson SSC Guru Points: 110639 More actions · Answer 12

I agree, although their position isn't surprising when you consider that such advocacy being listened to would result in more jobs for the O-S community.

Steve

(aka smunson)

:):):)

jgrubb (10/27/2008)
Amen about the talent question. A standard feature of Open Source is that you need more expertise to create and administer a given architecture. Unfortunately, it appears that many O-S advocates prefer it that way.

Steve (aka sgmunson) 🙂 🙂 🙂
Rent Servers for Income (picks and shovels strategy)

jgrubb SSCrazy Points: 2542 More actions · Answer 13

I don't think it's that conscious. I think it's more an unconscious attempt to maintain guru status. I have to fight the tendency myself at times. I've seen discussions in newsgroups that boil down to "If we make it easy the riffraff will start to intrude". I give them the benefit of the doubt that they aren't usually conscious of it.

To a certain extent I think it is part of the philosophy that developed from the early Unix culture.

sgmunson SSC Guru Points: 110639 More actions · Answer 14

If only I had some evidence for that... Unfortunately, the truth is that it was NEVER going to be easy, so the concern about "making it easy" wasn't realistic to begin with, and only served to isolate the O-S community and make it far less relevant than it would otherwise be. I've seen this behavior in person on a regular basis for many, many years, and no, it's not unconscious. Not even close. While I can't say that what I saw necessarily represents the entire O-S community, I'm quite certain it was reasonably representative, given the regularity with which the behavior occurred, and the rather significant variety of individuals that displayed it.

Steve

(aka smunson)

:):):)

jgrubb (10/27/2008)
I don't think it's that conscious. I think it's more an unconscious attempt to maintain guru status. I have to fight the tendency myself at times. I've seen discussions in newsgroups that boil down to "If we make it easy the riffraff will start to intrude". I give them the benefit of the doubt that they aren't usually conscious of it.
To a certain extent I think it is part of the philosophy that developed from the early Unix culture.

Steve (aka sgmunson) 🙂 🙂 🙂
Rent Servers for Income (picks and shovels strategy)

jgrubb SSCrazy Points: 2542 More actions · Answer 15

I try to live by "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlons_Razor

You can't "make it easy", but you can make it easier to live with.