Re: MS SQL Server vs Oracle vs DB2 (&Sybase too)

 A few comments on your SQL Server comments in-line  

> Just wait 'til the SQL Agent screws you. Change the sa password, or do
> something to your exchange server. Not only will the MAPI break, the SQL Agent
> might get jammed. Worse, we changed the sa pwd, & it stopped doing backups.
> But it kept mailing us telling us "SUCCESS."

 So don't use SQL Agent - I don't! Just because a supplied tool may not be 100% doesn't affect the kernel.   

> Worse, that MS SQL Agent only sends alerts to ONE e-mail address. That's it.
> Just one.

 So send it to a distribution list  

> And maint. plans only do BACKUPs or TRAN LOG dumps but not
> DIFFERENTIAL backups. What happened there? Did someone leave DIFF's out of the
> spec? Hello?

 Maint plans are there for simple setups. If you have a DB that is the size that needs diff backups   then you shouldn't be using the wizards.   

> That SQL Agent breaks its MAPI interface twice a month. Sometimes the only
> sol'n is to cycle the server. MS could've used the xp_sendmail that's part of
> MS SQL 4.x up to 7. But no, sendmail's open standard, much less reliable. So
> SQL 7 used the Windoze Mail API. IMO, that SQL Agent is the
> most amaturish P-O-S I've seen.

 All versions of SQL Server use the same MAPI api.   

 Neil Pike MVP/MCSE. Protech Computing Ltd  (Please reply only to newsgroups)
 SQL FAQ (428 entries) see
 forumsb.compuserve.com/gvforums/UK/default.asp?SRV=MSDevApps (sqlfaq.zip - L7 - SQL Public)

 or www.ntfaq.com/sql.html
 or www.sql-server.co.uk
 or www.mssqlserver.com/faq