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List:       postgresql-general
Subject:    Re: [HACKERS] Are we losing momentum?
From:       Brent Verner <brent () rcfile ! org>
Date:       2003-04-15 1:52:17
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Gretings!

[2003-04-14 19:54] Tom Lane said:
| Bruce Momjian <pgman@candle.pha.pa.us> writes:
| > Several people have asked if we are losing momentum.

| I don't know what we can do about it, other than maybe push harder to
| get some more PG titles into O'Reilly's catalog ... that would help
| narrow the bookshelf gap a little, at least.  Any wannabee authors
| out there?  (And Bruce, your book is due for a second edition...)

  I've wanted to pipe up in a few of these "popularity" 
discussions in the past.  Seeing how I can't make time to
participate in any other meaningful capacity, I'll share
my thoughts on _why_ mysql has the mindshare.


  Applications, specifically applications that _use_ mysql.


  A quick search over at freshmeat returns 1044 results for 
"mysql" and 260 for "postgresql".  Before this turns into a 
cause/effect discussion, I want to state up front that the 
real "effect" of this is that someone is 4 times as likely to 
download an application that uses mysql.  Sure, many are 
"trivial" applications, but I posit that it is _specifically_ 
these "trivial" applications that inoculate the uninitiated 
with the belief that mysql is suitable for use in real, albeit
trivial applications.  Additionally, it these rudimentary 
applications that will be studied by many as the way to write 
a database application.

  It is all good and well that postgres /can/ do, but until
the application developers see that those features are
valuable enough to forgo mysql support, they'll write the 
application to support whatever database is most likely to 
_already_ be installed, which will be mysql.  Granted, 
many developers will also try to support multiple dbs via
the language's db api, but this leaves the less-supported
dbs in an even worse position; being relegated to an
"might work with XXX database".  When anxious user learns
that "might" currently means "doesn't," the second-string
database looks even worse in the eyes of the user.

  How to solve this problem?  This is the hard part, but
luckily ISTM that there are a few ways to succeed.  Neither
of which involves marketing or writing books.

  1) become active in the "also supports postgres" projects,
     and add features that are made available _because_ of
     postgres' superiority.  Eventually, market pressure
     for the cool feature(s) will lead users to choose
     postgres, and mysql could be relegated to the "also
     runs on mysql, with limited featureset"
  2) take a popular project that uses mysql, fork it, and
     add features that can only be implemented using posgres.
  3) release that super-cool code that you've been hacking
     on for years, especially if it is a "trivial" app.
  4) convince your employer that it would be _beneficial_ to
     them to release, as open source, the internal app(s) you've 
     developed, using postgres-specific features.  (This is 
     about all I can claim to be doing at this point in my 
     indentured servitude, and I can't say I'm doing a good
     job... :-/)

  I'm sure this idea is not original, but I'm also sure that
it _is_ the answer to gaining market^Wmindshare in this
database market.

  (I must apologize in advance, that I might not have time
to even follow this thread, in fact, I hope that instead of
replying to this, the potential respondent might consider
helping to increase the number of apps that require postgres
:-)

wishing-I-could-contribute-more-ly yours,
  brent

-- 
"Develop your talent, man, and leave the world something. Records are 
really gifts from people. To think that an artist would love you enough
to share his music with anyone is a beautiful thing."  -- Duane Allman


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