MySQL and Firebird battle for database top spot

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

NEWS
Firebird and MySQL are almost neck-and-neck as they vie to be the most widely deployed open source database product, according to a survey released on Thursday.

The Evans Data Corporation survey of 400 database developers found that MySQL accounted for 40 percent of open source database deployments, while Firebird accounted for 39 percent. PostgreSQL accounted for 11 percent of deployments, said the survey.

Paul Beach, an administrator of the Firebird project and chief executive of IBPhoenix, said it was delighted with the results of the survey, which show that open source projects can be successful even if they don't have a big marketing budget.

"The Firebird Project was very pleasantly surprised by the results of the recent Evans Data Survey," said Beach. "It's amazing what a good piece of software can do when it is combined with word of mouth recommendation and guerilla marketing."

Talkback

These statistic figures are almost meaningless without mentioning the survey ground.

via Facebook 21 January, 2005 20:19
Reply

I doubt these results, I wonder which 400 database developers they interviewed. In the circles I travel in, MySQL has an edge over Postgres for popularity (which is too bad because Postgres is a better database), but nobody's heard of Firebird ("isn't that a browser?").

via Facebook 22 January, 2005 14:57
Reply

I've had a few conversations about this survey where people had to wonder if people understood that they were talking about firebird vs. firefox, since the numbers would seem much more likely if you asked these developers how many used mysql and firefox, especially when you consider that firebird and mysql both go after the same market (small websites and embeded apps)

via Facebook 24 January, 2005 18:04
Reply

The results do not really surprise me now I have had time to consider it. MySQL is not really aimed at the same market as FB and PG. Lack of ACID compliancy, and for a long time lack of stored procedures and triggers made it too primative to be used with mission critical data. It does plug really nicely into LAMP, so I do see a great future for MySQL. There are also some licensing rules that affect how developers can bundle MySQL.

PostgreSQL until recently had no windows build. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to work out that this is going to limit its market. Many small businesses do not have a linux box. Some would argue windows isn't the best environment for a dbms, I am not going down that path though. The latest version has some features that FB lacks, so I expect PG to increase its market share now Windows software developers can realistically use it.

Contrary to some peoples belief, Firebird was a popular dbms well before Mozilla named their project. It is a bit of a shame really, because now people question the motives of FBs reaction. To be honest, Firefox didn't exactly suffer as a result of the name clash either. FB has a tiny footprint (3MB), yet is surprisingly powerful. It shares a lot with its ancestor (Interbase) particularily with respect to ease of integration into the Borland tools.

Both FB and PG are serious threats to SQL Server and Oracle. I imagine that the big boys will always be around, but their marketability will shift from superior product through to legal indemnification for IP. I don't include MySQL in this list because it is a different market, although if MySQL introduces ACID compliancy, it may still be a three horse race.

I think it is great that there is not just an open source alternative, but several open source alternatives that we can judge on technical merit rather than simple licensing style.

via Facebook 27 January, 2005 13:02
Reply

MySql is still a peice of trash. Any database that cannot and will not be ACID compliant isn't worth a second glance. Data integrity is the paramount reason people have databases. If you can't guarantee that they your worthless. MySql has sacraficed ACID copmpliance for data retrival speed, leaving any ACID compliance to a bolt on called INNODB. It;s rubish and will remain such until fixed.

via Facebook 30 March, 2005 22:07
Reply

id they do this survey on the firebird site? In my experience most people havn't even heard about Firebird.

MySQL AB is much better at marketing than producing a good database. Both Firebird and even more so Postgresql are far better products than MySQL. MySQL AB tells you that MySQL 5 is the fastest database around and that it now have all the features that real databses have, such as triggers, stored procedures, transactions...

The problem is that they don't tell you that you have to turn off all the nice features that postgresql have to get the speed. Even if you turn it all off Postgresql still beats them on speed as soon as the queries get slightly more complicated than "select * from table" or you have many simultaneous users. To make things even worse the lack of features in the MySQL SQL language often makes the queries more complex and inelegant. Just imagine doing a relaional division without the "except" keyword.

The lack of feature in the MySQL language also makes it much harder to port code written for other databases.

via Facebook 30 January, 2006 21:24
Reply

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

Dennis Nilsson

If we allow corporate interest to dictate the way our government circumvents due process against foreign entities then we should accept the same...

47 minutes ago by Dennis Nilsson via Facebook on ACTA stumbles in Germany
GHar123

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

2 hours ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
JCB33

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

8 hours ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
Moley

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

10 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
greycynic

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

10 hours ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity
GrueMaster

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

12 hours ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Frederick Wrigley

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

13 hours ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
bdantas

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

13 hours ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

14 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

14 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Moley

For Gnome 2 die-hards, it is possible to add icons to the bottom panel (or top top panel, if you prefer) which provide the exact Gnome 2...

15 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
ramwellian

Your comments would seem pretty naive and immature. Your 'solution' appears to be, "gee, let's all just give in to the hackers and give them...

15 hours ago by ramwellian on Cloud computing security: no more oxymoron?
BugStalker

"Interesting thought ... If you installed Win7 as a dual boot on a machine that previously only had Linux, and it wrecked your Linux installation,...

15 hours ago by BugStalker on Windows 7 Declares War on GRUB
whs001

This is an excellent summary of Ubuntu and Mint and the interface differences between them. Most such articles take a very partisan position for...

15 hours ago by whs001 on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Moley

@ewallace. Not so clear. Anyone can obtain the text, for example from here http://www.ustr.gov/webfm_send/2379. I support ACTA so long as it and...

15 hours ago by Moley on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
45283

I think WinRT is fantastic. I just wish it was an option for people that didn't want to go through Microsoft's App Store with its attendant...

19 hours ago by 45283 on Why Windows 8 needs architectural hygiene for WOA
Burn-IT

Nine people? £30m? Who's back pocket is that lot going in? And IF they say it is for new buildings, what about all the ones the government has...

20 hours ago by Burn-IT on Police set to launch three £30m e-crime hubs
ewallace

Just to be clear, nobody knows what is in the text of ACTA, here is a photograph of the text of ACTA http://twitpic.com/8h9iju as submitted to the...

20 hours ago by ewallace on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
fgvrg56

Unfortunately main issue is that ASUS is refusing to accept that they make some mistake on this version of asus Transformer prime. 1 - GPS sensor...

21 hours ago by fgvrg56 on Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Wi-Fi & GPS problems?
Ben Woods

@Marcus A fair question. Just talked with Archos which said it was working on an announcement for next week....

22 hours ago by Ben Woods on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule