[aclug-L] Database question

[Jonathan Hall <jonhall@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm hoping to begin learning some database programming shortly.  I'm trying
to decide which database to use, so am asking for some information.

I will be writing some database applications in Perl to keep track of some
various customer information for the ISP I run.  (Account balances, payment
history, time used online, addresses, etc, etc)

I'm thinking that an SQL database is the way to go.  I'm hoping someone can
explain some of the advantages and disadvantages of some various SQL
databases (or other types of databases, too).

My familiarity right now is really limited to mysql and posgresql.  My
understanding thus far is that mysql is a bit more efficient, but not really
"free" (It can be used for free, but cannot be redistributed with other
software, right?).  Then posgresql is more featurefull, but also less
scalable.

Are these understandings accurate?  What other factors do I need to take
into consideration before deciding which database to do my programming with? 
And are there other SQL implimentations or even non-SQL databases I should
consider?


-- 
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  Jonathan Hall  *  jonhall@xxxxxxxxxxxx  *  PGP public key available
 Systems Admin, Future Internet Services; Goessel, KS * (316) 367-2487
         http://www.futureks.net  *  PGP Key ID: FE 00 FD 51
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