[Tutor] Gadfly... missing?

[dman]

On Tue, Mar 19, 2002 at 06:49:16AM -0800, Israel Evans wrote:
| Nuts!
| 
| I liked Gadfly.  It was small, simple (because it was a python thing), and
| it was portable.  Now I have to figure out which of the "Big Boys" I should
| fall back on.  Sometimes, it feels that the big databases are using a
| backhoe when all I need is a spoon.

Yeah.  You can still use it with the older pythons, though, and no one
can take the code away from you.

| What do you think dman, fellow pythonistas?

Anyone up to the task of maintaining gadfly? ;-)

| Which of the "free" database packages have you enjoyed working with?
| Which python modules have you used to connect to them?

At the moment I really haven't used any dbs.  I've toyed with gadfly a
little, and had to use cloudscape (not really free, java-based, and
I've been told it's a piece of junk) for a lab at school.
 
| I'm going to be working on both MacOSX and Debian with, perhaps a sprinkling
| of windows if I can't avoid it, so I'd like something useable on either of
| these platforms.  I'll be using the DB for webserving stuff, and your basic
| educational experimentation type stuff.  Really I'll just be toying around
| with python and databases and wxPython, Cocoa (when I get my hands on a
| g4/g5?), and Aqua (because it's perty).
| 
| I see my choices could be between Zope, MySQL, PostgreSQL ( using cygwin ),
| and possibly BerkelyDB.  What's your favorite?

Zope isn't a RDBMS.  It is a Web Application Server.  A component of
the Zope framework, ZODB (Zope Object Database) is an Object Database
that you can use standalone if you want.  Use it if you want to store
objects in your db.  Zope does include adapters for connecting to both
MySQL and PostgreSQL if you want to use those RDBMSes in your Web
Application.

If you want a relational db use PostgreSQL or MySQL.  I get the
impression that PostgreSQL scales better than MySQL.  I haven't
managed either one.  My new job makes use of MySQL (on linux) and MS
SQL Server and MS Access (both on windows).  I'll be learning soon
enough :-).  I've seen that cygwin packages PostgreSQL for you if you
need to serve off of a windows box.  I don't recommend that, though.
(nothing wrong with cygwin, but a solid foundation is essential, and
windows isn't)

For some comparisons of the two dbs try google :
   http://www.mysql.com/doc/M/y/MySQL-PostgreSQL_features.html

I also read a long article by someone at sourceforge detailing his
experiences with trying both MySQL and PostgreSQL in their
installation.

I don't know much about BerkelyDB other than 'rpm' uses it.  I don't
think it is a SQL db, though, and thus isn't in the same ballpark as
MySQL and PostgreSQL.


My recommendation is :
    If you want a RDBMS (SQL) :
        Stick with gadfly if you are trying to learn SQL and for
        proof-of-concept type projects.  In theory you can
        plug-and-play different dbs by simply changing the module that
        is used (see the DB-SIG for more details).

        If you need a production-level db then pick either PostgreSQL
        or MySQL.  You can try both too!  See which you like better.

    If you want an ODBMS :
        Go with ZODB.  Don't try to use the whole Zope package unless
        you are making a "Web Application".

    If you like BerkeleyDB, then learn about it so you know what it
    can and can't do. :-)

-D

-- 

"GUIs normally make it simple to accomplish simple actions and
impossible to accomplish complex actions."
    --Doug Gwyn  (22/Jun/91 in comp.unix.wizards)