Quote:
Originally posted by DannyW
QUOTE : I have a hard time believing the "best programmers in the world" would choose microsoft.
Also being oriented on the m$ SQl Server - "the best programmers in the world" would know that Oracle is superior.
I won't get into a big debate about this. However, the best solution for a job is dependant on a number of factors, only a very minor one being whether Oracle could support slightly more transactions per second the SQL Server - and even this is debatable.
Usually the most important consideration is the experience of the development team, and the existing software that comes "for free" with the solution. For example we develop analysis systems for telecoms usage. SQL Server includes an OLAP tool called Analsys Server, at no extra cost, that provides functionality you would pay 10s of K if you chose Oracle. That's before you start writing any software to use it.
Your experience of MS vs Unix/Apache is probably based on how fast and reliably a server can serve up pages of adult content. Apache wins hands down.
But if you consider a much more complex solution which involves communication between PC clients and servers, the decision is much less clear. The cost of a slightly faster server is trivial compared to the cost of development.
I happen to know Bill Gates regularly reads this board for tips on building his porn empire - I'm sure he'll join in the debate shortly.
ps I'm not really the best programmer in the world. But I'm quite good.
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The difference between Oracle and the ms SQL server is not exactly a "slight" one - Oracle wins hands down in tests with the standard setup. However, the big benefit of Oracle is that lots of tweaking can be done, which greatly increases performance. So, when properly configured, Oracle doesn't even break a sweat where the ms SQL server would die. (ofcourse, on windows servers I'd still recommend sql server)
Sure, Oracle is expensive, but that's because it's the best by far.
If you want to save on costs, you can use PostgreSQL. Not as good as Oracle, but in my opinion at least as good as the ms SQL server and quite a bit more economical.
With a nice standardized protocol, the benefits of Apache/Unix can also be used when connecting with PC clients and servers. Besides that, prices for software would be quite a bit lower since you have lots of existing open source programs to build on.
For client PCs though, it is obvious you'll have to develop for windows. That sucks, but there really isn't much you can do about it.