best small database?

[Larry Bates]

Paul Rubin wrote:
> Larry Bates <larry.bates at websafe.com> writes:
>> As far as "rational extension" is concerned, I think I can relate.
>> As a developer of imaging systems that store multiple-millions of
>> scanned pieces of paper online for customers, I can promise you
>> the file system is quite efficient at storing files (and that is
>> what the OP asked for in the original post) and way better than
>> storing in Oracle blobs.  Can you store them in the database,
>> absolutely.  Is it efficient and manageable.  It has been our
>> experience that it is not.  Ever tried to upgrade Oracle 9 to
>> Oracle 10 with a Tb of blobs?
> 
> I keep hearing complaints about Oracle's blob handling and I don't
> doubt they're true, but that sounds like an Oracle problem.  I haven't
> had any problems using blobs in MySQL though I've been a fairly
> lightweight user.

For small numbers of blobs it works fine.  The problem comes about,
more specifically, because Oracle's method for upgrading from one
version to another is Export, create new database, Import.  Exporting
of a large number of blobs is slow, requires lots of disk space, etc.
If the blobs are on the filesystem with a pointer in the database,
upgrading is is MUCH easier.  Granted I'm talking about millions of
pages of scanned .TIF images here.  Not a few files.

-Larry