[ransom1538]

Can someone explain it to me like I am 5. Why did postgres win vs mysql? I don't know many companies at scale that use postgres. Slack, youtube, etc all use a mysql based sharding system https://vitess.io/. I thought the war was lost for postgres, but it seems to keep going. License issues? (Disclosure, I manage 'a few' mysql vms).

[frollogaston]

Maybe it's because Postgres is easier to write extensions for? I do think MySQL is still used more widely, but since people on HN and other hacker/tech circles write extensions, you hear about Postgres more. Those extensions also increase Postgres's actual usage, like I know people who only know about Postgres because of PostGIS.

Regardless of popularity, idk, Postgres feels nicer to use for me.

n.b. PgDog isn't an extension

[re-thc]

> Why did postgres win vs mysql?

They did? By social media? According to a lot of social media devs Java is also “dead”.

Having said that the issue is MySql / Mariadb is moving more and more behind commercial products e.g. Galera and Heatwave. Postgres continues to be the open community effort.

But hence the divide you see. Large companies. Real traffic use pragmatic solutions to make money. The tutorial developers and hype does whatever.

[Maledictus]

MySQL is owned by the lawn mover* and barely kept alive.

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zRN7XLCRhc

[anticorporate]

I don't understand the idea of "winning" in this context.

If your situation doesn't require specialized features of a particular database, then it doesn't really matter. Just pick one. There's too much premature optimization in the world.

If your situation does require something that one database or another excels at, then be grateful that there isn't really such thing as a winner and you can pick the one that works best for your context.