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by josh2600 4885 days ago
SO I think we're almost having two separate arguments here.

On the one hand we're talking about Mongo working out of the box and on the other we're talking about developer skill. I'll agree with you that an unskilled developer is going to have a bad time running any Database, but I take issue with the idea that defaults aren't important.

The default settings are the defaults for a reason. Whether that reason is ease of adoption or performance testing, there's a reason. Mongo's default behavior was not sensible and has since been corrected to be more sensible, and I think we both agree on this point.

Mongo is a really cool database with a lot of neat features, but it doesn't get a pass just because it's cool. If the defaults on Mongo could cause data loss, they should change the defaults, right?

I agree you should understand your backend, but I also see a lot of value in having sane default settings. To be honest, the majority of users may never pass beyond the default settings, which is a shame, but true.

So the author's rant is just that, but he's not wrong. He might be mistaken about the potential of Mongo, but he's not really mistaken about Mongo "out-of-the-box".

Does that clarify my position with respect to the author's opinions?

1 comments

With the default settings in MySQL if you shut down an innodb database incorrectly you will loose data if not the entire table, should we vilify them for the same thing.

I am not saying he is wrong, and i am not saying that mongo is wrong either. I feel, if you RTFM, that they are very very clear as to the state of things. They are not hiding anything and if anything they are providing and application state that is not ideal for said user too bad IMO. I am not going to setup a new linux box without changing the root password, or setup a wordpress site without altering the config and locking down apache. Did you know a linux system is not 100% secure out of the box, WHAT A SHOCKER.

> With the default settings in MySQL if you shut down an innodb database incorrectly you will loose data if not the entire table, should we vilify them for the same thing.

Yes, we should. I do not think shipping unsafe defaults is ok.

> I am not going to setup a new linux box without changing the root password

This is why most Linux installers prompt you for the password.

> Yes, we should. I do not think shipping unsafe defaults is ok.

Isn't it the difference between shipping a product open enough and with enough barriers torn down to get the hobbyist hooked (drug dealers) and the expert will have a script to fix all those hols anyway. And agreed, shipping with unsafe defaults is bad for the expert but very very good for the novice.

> This is why most Linux installers prompt you for the password.

The key word there is MOST.

Fair points sir. Fair points all around. Cheers.