Re: Sybase or Oracle? (No flame wars please)

Ken Mcdonald wrote:
>
> OK, I realize that this is going to be a provocative subject, but
> I really would appreciate advice. Our group has to decide on a
> database soon, and we don't know whether to go with Sybase or
> Oracle. Clearly Oracle has the lead in the marketplace--but is
> it a better product?
>
> Of course, each product will have its strengths and weaknesses, so
> I realize I'm asking a pretty loaded question. Other things being
> equal (and I assume that performance and the like for the two
> databases are reasonably similar), what is probably most important
> for us is the ability to write clean code. Things such as having
> a database spread across different sites, or having a huge number
> of users, are not particularly important.
>
> So, if you know enough about certain features of Sybase vs. Oracle
> to comment on them, and feel strongly that one is better than the
> other in some way, please drop me a line. Thanks for the advice!
>

(just a quick response)

To start off, you assumed incorrectly; Sybase is faster than Oracle. I have installed and maintained Oracle, Sybase, and Informix on a Sun box. To sum things up quickly, IMHO: Sybase is the quickest and leanest but has the most archaic interface (stored proceedures. great as a backend server). However, the client software makes up for a bit of this. As you are aware of, Oracle is a marketing monster. Everybody supports Oracle. This is something to consider. And Oracle support is very responsive. They also have a habit of giving away software to developers. But Oracle is a memory pig and not as flexible to work with as Informix and Sybase, besides being the slower of the three (IMHO). Informix is in the middle of the road with good user interface and the best BLOB handling.

Sorry I couldn't give more time to this response. Got to solve my own problems. (take it easy on me people)

Good luck,

Daniel S. Hayes (VW 2.5)
American Management Systems (AMS)
12601 Fair Lakes Circle
Fairfax, VA 22033
800-242-8143 x5615 W
dsh12_at_ix.netcom.com Received on Thu Jan 02 1997 - 00:00:00 CST