I am more concerned with the PHP/MySQL connection. It seems like it is a
defacto grouping. Engineers I know, who do not know SQL, will just use MySQL
because "everyone else does."
Invariably, MySQL (at first) seems like a good decision, then they have to do a
complex query. MySQL just can not execute the queries that a real SQL database
can. If an engineer does not know SQL, he will walk away thinking SQL is a
limiting environment.
An contractor came on to the company with a solid MySQL background. He was a
bright guy, but we are an Oracle/PostgreSQL shop. More than a few times, I had
to rewrite his code to use the SQL engine with a more complex, but overall more
efficient, query. His response is always, "Wow I didn't know you could do
that."
The word that needs to be heard is that a real SQL database is easier than a
simplistic SQL-like environment such as MySQL. I have tried several projects
with MySQL and have never been able to finish them with it, because MySQL is
just too limited.
