Moving away from MS SQL Server to open source RDBMS

Question

So I'm an MSSQL guy and I have been for a while because it's what I've always used in my workplaces. So when I create a new project I'm usually inclined to just grab a copy of SQL Express and start working from there.

However, I've been asked to work on a new project but for various reasons, we can't use SQL Express edition and the licensing of the full version is too expensive.

So I'm wondering what the best open source RDBMS would be for someone that has used MSSQL for pretty much the entirety of their career.

My main requirements would be that:

1. It doesn't necessarily have to run on windows, altho this would be preferred.
2. It would be great if it had excellent tooling support, however I'm not afraid to use the command line
3. It needs to be easy to install, administer and backup.

Answer 1

The established players in the free RBDMS arena are MySQL and Postgres. Either one is a great choice and will meet the criteria you outlined above. Which one specifically, will depend on other considerations for your project. Please tell us more and we'll be able to recommend one or the other.

Answer 2

Firebird can be a good choice

1- it work on many OS

Supported platforms Currently our main supported platforms are Windows, Linux (i586 and higher, and x64 for Firebird 2.0 on Linux), Solaris (Sparc and Intel), HP-UX (PA-Risc), FreeBSD and MacOS X. Main development is done on Windows and Linux, so all new releases are usually offered first for these platforms, followed by other platforms after few days (or weeks).

2- It have command line tools but also very nice tooling support IBExpert and Database Workbench (both have free personal edition)

3- firebird is very easy to install. you can backup database easily (gbak (full backup) and nbackup (incremental backup)) and allmost no administration.

More info here

Answer 3

I'd recommend PostgreSQL for you. This is the most feature complete opensource database and has the most permissive license (3-clause BSD). It has some very nice features, not available in most database engines, like transactional DDL.

I haven't used Firebird but I think it is also a good joice.

I'd stay away from MySQL for proprietary because of license issues - it is GPL, and libraries for connecting to it are also GPL (with FLOSS exception) which forces open source license for your programs linking to them, or you'll have to buy commercial license. Future of MySQL is also not very clear, as it was bought by Sun, which was bought by Oracle which has monopoly issues to resolve.

Answer 4

i would also recommend PostgreSQL as it should come close to mssql in features, and i would expect it to beat it in terms of reliability and speed (but thats hear-say, never used mssql)

i would vote against mysql for several technical reasons but mostly out of experience (i introduced mysql in my company 11 years ago), i see very few advantages mysql has over postgres today, but lots of advantages in the other direction

Answer 5

Go for Firebird! It fits perfectly in your listed needs. If you don't know Firebird yet, take a look at this "2 minutes" paper:

http://www.firebirdnews.org/?page_id=165