Re: A newbie's opinion - postgres NEEDS a Windows

Let me respond as someone who's done a lot of development in MS Access,
including trying to salvage small department-level apps written either by "power
users" or contractors hired by the "power users."  First off, I think it's a bad
idea for 'power users' to try and write production code for anything serious.
By extension, it's a bad idea to enable these users to do something that's not
really in their best interests.  Now, if you're talking about a way for
professionals to write and install a quick database application, PostgreSQL
could certainly have a role here.  But then I'd say they should scrape up an
extra PC from somewhere, throw Red Hat Linux on it, and write the GUI in their
language of choice, designed to run from everyone's desktop. The GUI could even
be Access if that's what folks want. Anyone who can do the development should be
able to throw Linux on a PC (probably FreeBSD as well, I can't say), and if the
hardware can host an Access database with X users hitting it, than it ought to
be enough for Postgresql as well.

As far as cost, I could be out of date, but last time I looked Microsoft was
still selling Office Pro (which includes Access) for more than they were selling
Office Plain (everything except Access IIRC).  So Postgresql could still be
cheaper than Access, even for a shop that has Office on every desktop, if it
saves them from upgrading to Pro.

Bottom line, I'd rather see the OS distribution folks focus on making the
installation process even easier to get a nice linux or bsd system out of the
box for a small office, running Postgresql, samba, and maybe apache. The main
distributions are doing this. Looks to me like life will keep getting better.
:-)

Wes Sheldahl
P.S. sorry for the topquoting.  I'm a lotus notes victim.  :-(




"Mike Arace" <mikearace%hotmail.com@interlock.lexmark.com> on 11/20/2001
02:05:15 PM

To:   pgsql-general%postgresql.org@interlock.lexmark.com
cc:    (bcc: Wesley Sheldahl/Lex/Lexmark)
Subject:  Re: [GENERAL] A newbie's opinion - postgres NEEDS a Windows binary!


[snip]

That being said, the lack of a native Windows version puts it at a distinct
disadvantage when trying to gain access to new markets.  A key area in which
postgres could compete very favorably is among the "Access crowd" - the
people who get that "free" database with the version of Office that comes on
their new computers and then proceed to build their small businesses around
it.  (I mean free in the sense that they are already paying for Word and
Excel, and in their eyes it is a part of the package)  Access has nowhere
near the functionality of Postgres, but it is "good enough" to put together
a couple tables and forms to fill them out.  User-interface issues aside,
Postgres would be a great replacement for Access since it could scale much
better, and has a very appealing price point.  The only thing holding it
back is the lack of a native windows version and inability to be installed
by people who don't know POSIX from a fine clam sauce.

Taking this from another angle, Postgres (with its relatively small
footprint and robust features) could be a perfect embedded database for
complex client applications, such as integrated CRM packages or fat clients
for large distributed applications.  The fact that the database can play
with virtually any language only makes this more salient.  Again, the lack
of ability to deploy seemlessly on a microsoft platform is an issue in this
area, since this little monopoly thing isn't going away anytime soon.

[snip]

Just a thought.

Regards
Mike