joec@skat.usc.edu (Joe S. Chen) (07/01/90)
Oracle and DB2 have certainly been the front runners when it comes to managing production databases. I'm a person who in the midst of some heated debates. For those who have worked with both systems extensively, I would be estatic to hear from your experience. However I do not want another "beauty contest"; features are important, but I am more interested in the following: [Assuming large database capacity (>50 GB); hundreds of users] 1. Reliability - when a database system is sitting in the critical path of the end users, which one would you trust? Oracle(VAX/IBM) or DB2? 2. Maintainability - which database system do you believe is more of a headache to maintain? 3. Would you agree that DB2 and Oracle are totally interoperable (in terms of porting database, or database format compatbility)? If you feel strongly one way or another, please follow up or reply to me privately. Thanks. Joe Chen