MySQL vs. PostgreSQL, Part 1: Table Organization

"I'm going to be starting an occasional series of blog postings comparing MySQL's architecture to PostgreSQL's architecture. Regular readers of this blog will already be aware that I know PostgreSQL far better than MySQL, having last used MySQL a very long time ago when both products were far less mature than they are today. So, my discussion of how PostgreSQL works will be based on first-hand knowledge, but discussion of how MySQL works will be based on research and - insofar as I'm can make it happen - discussion with people who know it better than I do. (Note: If you're a person who knows MySQL better than I do and would like to help me avoid making stupid mistakes, drop me an email.)

"In writing these posts, I'm going to try to avoid making value judgments about which system is "better", and instead focus on describing how the architecture differs, and maybe a bit about the advantages of each architecture. I can't promise that it will be entirely unbiased (after all, I am a PostgreSQL committer, not a MySQL committer!) but I'm going to try to make it as unbiased as I can. Also, bearing in mind what I've recently been told by Baron Schwartz and Rob Wultsch, I'm going to focus completely on InnoDB and ignore MyISAM and all other storage engines."

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