Re: [GENERAL] Re: [HACKERS] [Fwd: SGVLLUG Oracle and Informix on Linux]

On Tue, 21 Jul 1998, Bruce Momjian wrote:

> We clearly are the most advanced "open source" database around.  We now
> have "closed source" competition.  How do we meet that challenge?

	You want an honest answer?  We don't.  Or, at least, we don't
think of it as meeting a challenge.

	We've spent the past, what, 2 years now, building PostgreSQL up to
something that we (the developers) are proud to work with and support, and
are confident in both using, and promoting for use, in real, production
environments.

	Oracle now comes along and says that it is going to have a
Linux-binary distribution available.  So?  How much is that binary going
to cost?  And what sort of licensing is provided?

	How many ppl are going to flock to Oracle because all of a sudden
they have a Linux port of it?  I just checked their list of 'supported
platforms', and here at the University, we run almost a half a dozen of
them (Win95, WinNT, Solaris x86, Sparc/Solaris, Netware)...its not as if I
don't have a machine that I can pay the same price for Oracle and run it
on them...

	Continue our trend...continuing listening to the ppl asking for
various "reasonable" features and working towards providing them.  I
support free/open software because, IMHO, the software is generally better
written, and more featured, because those that are developing it are doing
so because they *enjoy* what they are doing, they have a passion for
it...not because some large company is paying them to do it.

	IMHO, the most important thing that is happening right now is
Vadim's work at getting LLL in place for v6.4.  To me, that is as
important, if not more so, in a 'multi-user, concurrent' system as
transactions are, as on a multi-user system, it would be a performance
increase due to less ppl having to wait to make changes...

	I would like to see Ken's list of missing items expanded with
explanations and added to the TODO list, as appropriate, since I think he
brought up alot of good points, but I think that "panick'ng" because
Oracle has announced an upcoming release of a Linux binary is
counter-productive...