Re: [pgsql-advocacy] interesting PHP/MySQL thread - Mailing list pgsql-general

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Steve Lane [mailto:slane@moyergroup.com]
> Sent: Monday, June 23, 2003 1:25 AM
> To: Advocacy (PostgreSQL); PostgreSQL-general
> Subject: Re: [pgsql-advocacy] interesting PHP/MySQL thread
>
> On 6/22/03 10:57 PM, "Tom Lane" <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us> wrote:
>

>
> These battles aren't won by being a better product. They're won by being
> used by more people. And generally speaking, one thing tends to win,
> whether it's the best or not.

Sad but true...
>
> If you want to exploit this opportunity (which I fervently recommend) than
> you should make a big push to have postgres be THE database for PHP.
> People
> latch onto MySQL because it's joined at the hip with PHP. The way to
> replace
> it in that position is, well, by replacing it. MySQL wins, in part, by
> piggybacking on the ubiquity of PHP. Let's just replace it with Postgres
> in that role, if possible.
>

Can I also suggest updating the documentation... Adding more prominent links
to Bruce's online book, some simple "Get started with PostgreSQL" or maybe
"Using PostgreSQL and PHP" type tutorials.

My issues with the online (idoc and static) documentation is that it's hard
for me to find what I want because of the separation into different
"guides".  The search feature is not very robust and I've gone so far as to
download the docs and index them with ht://dig to get better results.

The quality of the material is very good, so please don't get me wrong, I
just think it's hard to find stuff.  Both PHP and MySQL have well laid out
docs, with PHP being the better of the two.

I too started doing php stuff because of the need to do a web front end for
a database.  Prior to that I had no database experience at all and the
wealth of PHP/MySQL tutorials made it easy for me to learn both.

I hadn't even ever considered MySQL's lack of features as compared to higher
end databases until I'd read an article from Tim Perdue on phpbuilder.

A good candidate for a tutorial would be something that showed the use of
simple PHP and SQL but containing examples with a sub-select and maybe a
transaction.

I like Bruce's examples for procedures/UDFs, but adding some SRF examples
would be very useful.

Bruce also has some great trigger/view/rule stuff that could be highlighted
and possibly added to.

>
>
> =======================================================
> Steve Lane
>
> Vice President
> The Moyer Group
> 14 North Peoria St Suite 2H
> Chicago, IL 60607
>
> Voice: (312) 433-2421       Email: slane@moyergroup.com
> Fax:   (312) 850-3930       Web:   http://www.moyergroup.com
> =======================================================
>
--
Matthew Nuzum
www.bearfruit.org
cobalt@bearfruit.org