rvbyron wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I have seen some comparisons of Firebird to other open source
> databases, however, the list is not very extensive. Further,
> most of the comparisons are not referencing Firebird 2.0, but
> an earlier version of Firebird. I am hoping that someone could
> point me in the direction of something that would tell me:
>
> * Why is Firebird 2.0 better than MySQL or Postgres?
> * Feature per feature, how does Firebird 2.0 stack up?
> * Are there comparisons showing Administrative, Programmatic,
> and Performance between the databases (including Firebird
> 2.0)?
>
> I know this is a big task and I won't be surprised if it
> hasn't been done, but I am sure many people out there trying
> to make a decision on which database to choose would like to
> see the advantages and disadvantages to Firebird 2.0.
>
> An article from one or more of you who are knowledgeable in
> the subject could really help out the adoption of FB 2.0.
>
> Thanks,
> Bob

1. I agree with Ann and Jim on this. See their messages.
2. A general comparison 'why is better' IMHO isn't / can't reflect the
entire truth. It depends *a lot* what do you want to do. A system is
"better" if its design, goals, status etc. if it fits with /your/ goals,
way of work, application design etc. For example, Firebird is small, has
very well balanced engine, very good connectivity with many programming
languages, works with (almost) any hardware, requires (near to) zero
configuration and administration and to deploy it and its databases is a
piece of cake. This fits (almost) perfect for me, as application
developer. OTOH, if someone doesn't care about server footprint, it
wants only fast updates or selects (but not both), isn't interested in a
good connectivity layer (he wants only a thin layer to retrieve the
data), and he has big hardware resource and wants to pay a specialized
DBA to take care of it (almost) all day and he doesn't want to move the
databases elsewhere then, perhaps, he wants to choose other Db (MySQL in
some 'flavors',Oracle perhaps?). 'Better' or 'worse' - it depends on
your scenario. But, as Ann said, perhaps is better to ask in
'Firebird-General' list. Or ask in 'Firebird-support' something like
"Hi, I'm newbie on Fb land. I want to do 'x', 'y', 'z' things. How can
be done these things in Fb?" - there are some people which can give you
quick and (almost ;) ) complete answers.
3. About the benchmarking. You have *no* escape. :) You must do your own
according with your concrete application / hardware (see point 2.
above). Generally speaking the Fb (especially the 2.0 - after the index
engine improvements) does a very good job *as an average*. It hasn't
'surprises' - nor 'good' nor 'bad'. Usually when I don't know something
I saw that is better to ask on the 'support' list. And the improvement
continues :) . But if your application will heavily use one of the
strong features of Postgres (GIS, FTS for ex.) or MySQL (very extensive
product commercial strategy, market acceptance) go with them.

hth,

m. th.