[SMF For Free]

When would you need to use Orcale?

I use MySQL for all my sites and really do not see a reason to use another database system.

Whly do you use Orcale and what does Orcale offer that other database systems have.

Orcale is the leader right now but they have been playin security catch up last I heard. I took a couple orcale classes in school but haven't really used it since.

[The Kraic]

I have never found myself needing to use it tbh....

[Alur3n]

I have always wondered this, when would another system be preferable to MySQL?

[Dana]

We had a lot of Oracle based systems at my old job. While the industry standard for many Fortune 100's, I found much of it archaic. They weren't my favourite.

[robert]

Oracle is very much like MySQL in the way it's managed. You have DBI DBD::Oracle calls just like mysql and you can run it from any application that mysql could otherwise. There are definitely differences in the calls and the way things are handled but it's not that much different. However, it's very different in it's security, management and features. Oracle is the industry standard for mission critical applications. While MySQL does a great job, it doesn't compare to Oracle. The other great advantage is that Oracle provides unlimited scalability up to your hardware limits. Some of the largest company's on the planet are using Oracle for Terabyte databases, it's just insane the power of Oracle but it depends heavily on the users because just like any system, if not properly managed you probably wont see the advantages.

The big draw back to Oracle that puts it out of the hands of most is the cost. A typical Oracle setup will require a good Oracle DBA which in NYC for example runs you at least $150k a year and the licensing which can range on a lease anywhere from $7k a month to in many cases, several million dollars a month for licensing, hardware and staffing.

Oracle is just a beast of a solution but if you don't need it, then chances you aren't going to use it.

[scoooooty]

$150k a year

Thats a decent amount of money :)


I think I will get 5 of them

[Dana]

They're rather bossy though. I used to sell their s/w to my customers and they managed the margins and the resellers very rigidly.
I guess when you're that big, you expect people to call you Mr.

[thebookish]

I have never used Oracle, always depended on MySQl, but Oracle is number one for a reason. They are the best, but if you don't need the most power, you won't feel it is that important.

[robert]

I've seen many of the internet technical documentation specs for Oracle as it's used for some internal systems, so I can tell you it's incredible but unless you are in a situation where you need that, it's not going to help you. Much like, while you would like a $250k care that does 250 mph, if you live in NYC, it's a waste unless you plan to take it out in the country.

Oracle has some incredible features, one of the things I think is just insane is their predictive crash prevention. It can actually tell if a crash is going to happen and prevent it. It also does bit level recovery and handles indexing better than MySQL would if it spent the next 500 years designing. Plus, one advantage for big company's is the multi location load balancing. While MySQL has load balancing and there are other tools, as someone who has worked on both, I can tell you they don't even come close.

MySQL is an incredible product but Oracle is just that, Oracle. So if you are running situations where you need to have it, then go for it. What I have seen time and time again still seems to apply, if you need it, you can afford it. Typically more often than not the case.

[Alur3n]

From what I've heard the main difference is in the number of connections they can stably hold on the same resource. Apparently oracle can serve a much greater number of simultaneous requests on the same hardware.