Marketing would suggest that a commercial version of
PostgreSQL is somehow objectively superior to an open source
version of PostgreSQL. In reality, this is not the case. When
deciding what version of PostgreSQL you are going to run, you need
only be aware of your own needs. For example, are you going to need
installation support? Is a graphical installation important to you? If
they are, then you should probably purchase a commercial version of
PostgreSQL. However, if you or one of your staff are comfortable with
compiling and configuring source code, the open source version could
be more applicable to you.
There are two additional questions you may want to ask. Do you need printed
documentation and are you willing to pay for PostgreSQL? The commercial distribution
comes with printed documentation. However, if you are reading this book, we hope you
won't need the additional documentation. The other question relates to cost. Red Hat Database is priced at
$2,295.00.
The most important thing to remember when deciding on which version of PostgreSQL to
use is this (from a perspective of general usage and feature availability):
there
is no practical difference between the open source and the commercial versions.
