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28

answers:

2

I want to use PostgreSQL for my standalone .NET Windows application. I downloaded PostgreSQL Advanced Server from EnterpriseDB's website and it is very smooth. The GUI also very good. But I suspect how along EnterpriseDB will support it.

The second option is to download from postgresql.org.

I want an edition that lasts long and I can easily upgrade it to future versions without any problems and it must work smoothly with .NET.

A: 

I use the version from postgresql.org, because this is the "open" version. EnterpriseDB has added features, which are open, too, has created an one-click-installer, and is just the "commercial" version of postgresql. BTW I assume, EnterpriseDB will support its version for a long time.

I however like the raw version to be sure to have the same functionality on all platforms.

Daniel
@Daniel: I just noticed that if you select download from www.postgresql.org and select Win32 version, it will take to EnterpriseDB site.
RPK
Do not use this download! On this (http://www.postgresql.org/download/windows) page you can select the OneClick-Installer from EnterpriseDB, and the pgInstaller, which is the free one. EnterpriseDB developers are mostly always also postgresql developers, so their connection is very tight, and this is why I believe that EnterpriseDB will persist. However, if you install PostgreSQL on Debian or most other linux distros, you always get the unenterprised version.
Daniel
+1  A: 

You will always want the latest version (unless there are know issues), as for binaries so long as they are the latest version it shouldn't really matter - EnterpriseDB for example is just compilation of different parts which are free anyway (such as including pgAdmin) so it doesnt matter if they stop supporting it - you can always get support for the individual components - here is the list of them: http://www.postgresql.org/download/product-categories

I have been using 8.4 with .Net front ends with an uptime over a year. I mostly use Npgsql in .Net apps or you can go the ODBC route (which has the downside of requiring clients to configure their ODBC as opposed to just distributing dlls with your app - so I find is better suited to server apps) for which the offical driver is psqlODBC: http://www.postgresql.org/ftp/odbc/versions/

You can upgrade your postgres installation if it is within the same version eg: 9.1 --> 9.2 but you would require a new install for different versions, eg: 8.4 --> 9.1, but then you can easily dump your tables and restore them into the new install..

Mrk Mnl
How is your experience with .NET/PGSQL? How you use Reporting?
RPK
My experiance has been without a hitch.. though Im not sure what is .NET/PGSQL? For reporting I: 1) retrieve the data and put it in XML which then using XSLT convert to XSL-FO which I then used FOP to make into PDFs :) Sounds complicated but once you have it working its pretty neat - the XSL-FO --> PDF using FOP can be a little proccessor intensive and be careful of how much memory it can consume!
Mrk Mnl
From a .Net app however you can probably use Crystal reports - I have never looked at it..
Mrk Mnl