During the MySQL conference Call for Papers there was some talk of getting one or two Postgres sessions into the mix, as a lot of MySQL users seem to have questions about Postgres these days. Alas, looking through the MySQLcon schedule I don't see any on there. I've also looked through the BOF's and nothing about Postgres to be found there either. So, maybe no one is interested in Postgres after all.

However I held a Postgres BOF at MySQLcon last year and we got a handful of people, and since I am going to be at MySQLcon again this year, I might as well host one again. I think it's too late to schedule one formally, but I can put some info on the schedule sheets once I'm at the conference; if you are interested in learning some more about Postgres, please keep an eye out.

Before all my fellow DBAs' heads explode, let me just say that I am a relational guy. I like the relational model, think it's the best tool for the job, and think every programmer (not just DBA's) should aspire to be as familiar with it as they are with AJAX, MVC, or whatever other technology pattern you think is important. I'll even take that a step further; I think the NoSQL movement is mostly a re-hash of failed technologies from the last century. Object and document databases had their run in the market (some might say "they had their time"), and they were pretty thoroughly beaten by the RDBMS; that some people have reinvented that wheel doesn't change the game.

That said, I find the recent comments from Jeff Davis on the relational model and scalability …

I've just publicly released another Postgres-related script, this one called "boxinfo". Basically, it gathers information about a box (server), hence the catchy and original name. It outputs the information it finds into an HTML page, or into a MediaWiki formatted page.

The goal of boxinfo is to have a simple, single script that quickly gathers important information about a server into a web page, so that you can get a quick overview of what is installed on the server and how things are configured. It's also useful as a reference page when you are trying to remember which server was it that had Bucardo version 4.5.0 installed and was running pgbouncer.

As we use MediaWiki internally here at End Point (running with a Postgres backend, naturally), the original (and default) format is HTML with some MediaWiki specific items inside of it.

Because it is meant to run on a wide a range of boxes as possible, it's written in Perl. …

Oracle, after dating HP, Dell, Netapp and EMC has found its mate in Sun. Oracle is now becoming a systems company, and unceremoniously dumping these former paramours. These leaves the spurned lovers to find alternate accommodations, especially in the area of the database.

As I have stated previously on this blog, the clear partner of choice on the Windows front is Microsoft. This is demonstrated by today’s partner announcement around MS SQL Server for OLTP. But who is their partner in the Linux segment?

The following are contenders:
* Postgres (HP rolls their own)
* EnterpriseDB (pre-rolled Postgres)
* Ingres or Sybase—Oracle has felled them both in the past, …

It's been interesting watching the MySQL drama unfold, but I have to take issue when people start trying to drag Postgres into it again by spreading FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt). Rather than simply rebut the FUD, I thought this was a good opportunity to examine the strength of the Postgres project.

Monty recently espoused the following in a blog comment:

Users toggling between MySQL and Postgres are often confused by the equivalent commands to accomplish basic tasks. Here's a chart listing some of the differences between the command line client for MySQL (simply called mysql), and the command line client for Postgres (called psql).

In an amazing display of chutzpah, Monty Widenius recently asked on his blog for people to write to the EC about the takeover of Sun by Oracle and its effect on MySQL, saying:

I, Michael "Monty" Widenius, the creator of MySQL, is asking you urgently to help save MySQL from Oracle's clutches. Without your immediate help Oracle might get to own MySQL any day now. By writing to the European Commission (EC) you can support this cause and help secure the future development of the product MySQL as an Open Source project.

"Help secure the future development"? Sorry, but that ship has sailed. Specifically, when MySQL was sold to Sun. There were many other missed opportunities over the years to keep MySQL as a good open source project. Some of the missteps:

• Bringing in venture capitalists
• Selling to Sun instead of making …

OpenSQLCamp was a huge success! I took videos of most of the sessions (we only had 3 video cameras, and 4 rooms, and 2 sessions were not recorded). Unfortunately, I was busy doing administrative stuff for opensqlcamp for the opening keynote and first 15 minutes of the session organizing, and when I got to the planning board, it was already full….so I was not able to give a session.

• 
  
• Comparing Non-Relational Databases: MongoDB, Tokyo Tyrant, CouchDB by Igal Koshevoy of Pragmaticraft

OpenSQLCamp was a huge success! Not many folks have blogged about what they learned there….if you missed it, all is not lost. We did take videos of most of the sessions (we only had 3 video cameras, and 4 rooms, and 2 sessions were not recorded).

All the videos have been processed, and I am working on uploading them to YouTube and filling in details for the video descriptions. Not all the videos are up right now….right now all the lightning talks are up.

• 
  
• All the lightning talks belowin one continuous video (just over 54 minutes total)
  
• The Graph Engine (Antony Curtis)
  
• …

In record time, less than a week after the conference (thanks to the free Pinnacle Video Spin and YouTube), all 11 videos that were taken at OpenSQLCamp Europe are online.

For those who missed the sessions, or just want to relive the fun!

Almost all the sessions were filmed; regrettably Darren Cassar’s Securich – MySQL user administration and security made easy! and Stephane Combaudon’s Minimizing data access with covering indexes were not.

The YouTube videos have the descriptions and resources from the official conference pages, and links to pages. If there is more information to add (for example, the slides from a talk are now online), or if …