[Qgis-user] postgis or mysql for a qgis database?

[Pierre Chevalier Géologue]

maning sambale claviota:
> Hi,
>
> I am intrigued by this situation as we plan to incrementally migrate
> our basemaps  to a dbase.  Both geospatial dbase are supported in
> QGIS.  We have initially tested both and it's running fine with qgis
> 1.5.  Although our test barely scratched the surface (just import,
> display and a few edits).
>
> Reading through regina's review [1]:
> "spatial functionality and speed of MySQL significantly lags that of
> SQL Server 2008 spatial and PostGIS"
>
> I am curious about the statement, mysql is one of the most widely used
> "open source" general purpose database but not very much used for
> "geo".
>
> Our plan is to use QGIS as the main data browser but there should be
> some option to consume the data in ArcGis.  Any real world scenarios
> comparing both database that can help us decide ultimately?
>   
I had to take such a decision, about 3 years ago, for a large database 
holding drill holes data, in the mining industry.  I did quite a few 
tests, and it quickly appeared that postgresql was WAY ahead of mysql, 
in terms of performance. To give you a rough idea, nested queries with 2 
to 4 nests were about one thousand times quicker in postgresql.

The thing is, postgresql and mysql are not exactly on the same "market": 
mysql is usually preferred to work in the back of a website, with php. 
It proved to be extremely robust, but queries, in these cases, are 
usually quite simple, and data models are also pretty simple. Postgresql 
allows you to do way more complex and efficient things.


> [1] http://www.bostongis.com/PrinterFriendly.aspx?content_name=sqlserver2008_postgis_mysql_compare
>   
One little question (please forgive my English ignorance...): what does 
"gotchas" mean?
(in: "SQL Server while its not free except for its express version, all 
its spatial is fully-supported in its express (so no major hidden 
gotchas), its pricing is...")


> PS. I am fairly convinced with using PostGIS but other ideas are
> welcome for us to have a more informed decision. :)
>   
I use postgresql with postgis and I am about 100% satisfied, sometimes a 
bit more.
My clients and colleagues sometimes do not like it that much, because of 
the lack of ready-to-run GUI for tables, forms, etc. In fact, they miss 
access, they were a bit "formatted" that way...

A+
Pierre

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