Fear of the...SQL?!?

Why is it that people hate using (My)SQL in plugins? People always comment against it. Does it just seem scary? It takes 2 sec to setup a sql DB @ db4free.net or some other site. Coming from a PHP background i LOVE sql and prefer it in plugins when available! What about you? Do you have a fear of SQL?

 

Pretty much. It's just strange using a third party system for databases rather than a simple text file which can be immediately interpreted. Linking the databases probably scares them too. It's certainly more efficient for editing data in thin air rather than saving, manipulating, and so forth.

I definitely am a fan, but I have a few unanswered questions about it. I run my server at home via a FiOS connection that allows me to support about 60 players at any given time. I use a WAMP solution to host the server, but I'm a little curious as to how much bandwidth this allots, if even a significant amount.

 

good point

 

people are not afraid of MySQL, they are usually just to young/inexperienced and or lazy to figure out how to create a database.

 

My first server didn't have SQL or anything, pure vanilla. Then I was introduced to bukkit. Holy ****! The possiblities were endless. When i dove into the plugins page, it was like christmas. Then it hit me, "this plugin requires mySQL". I had no clue what it was let alone how to set it up. I researched it, found some options, and now run mySQL along with a website, message board AND minecraft server. Looking back, i don't know why i never tried it earlier. I love the ablility and smiplicity of just going into my database and editing say someones money/jail time/experience points. It's just too damn easy this way. I love mySQL!

 

Yeah and using a pre existing DB and not just writing to flat files is a lot nicer on plugin devs

 

well... why would you use mySQL?

what is the benefit on have 2 to 100 values in several different tables you have to correlate yourself?

for a lot of plugins mySQL and the overhead doesn't make sense.

sure it may be easy to use a webfrontend to edit the tables etc but you can also edit them via ssh on the server..

so for most it would be perhaps an idea of having it simpler as an admin to manage the server... for a plugin developer it is just more work with no real benefit.

also what happens when your connection goes down if you host offline or when you run on a shared instance?

 

I try not to use MySQL on my server unless needed for large volumes of info that a flatfile isn't the best at handling..like LogBlock..unless its over a 100k or so of data, MySQL isn't any faster for accessing it for use in any noticeable way over flatfiles.
Also one more chain of communication between 2 or more servers to deal with and need to hope there is no hickups between them, or access loss. Load balancing is one thing, adding unneeded variables of crucial data relying on an outside storage device that would have no impact if stored locally is another.

For economy to keep money totals, or where peoples home is located, etc. I MUCH prefer flatfiles.

I dont like MySQL for storing info I need to manually look at, for the same reason I only use Steam for games that have no other way of getting.
To play I game I dont want to have to start a program, wait login to the program, close the ad screen find my game, click it watch the popup window..and have it launch. much less a useless background process that also sits near my clock in my tray.

same with MySQL, if I want to check something in a flatfile, I open it..
in MySQL i have to open browser, login to phpmyadmin, find the DB, find the table, look for the key, etc.
by the time I open a browser and start logging into the frontend, I could have already gotten what I needed to know out of the flatfile.

While I DO admit that SQL has its place, and is a lovely piece of data matrix storage software..sometimes its overkill to use just because you can.
Same as with our software we develop at my job..unless its a large collection of data, or data that gets written to at a constant rate, it goes in a flatfile. the SQLDB is ONLY for the large arrays of data, or things that get updated in realtime.

I mean you can take your socks and sort them by color, thickness, length, age, and brand. then subsort them into bins based on that criteria so no more than 2 pairs are bundled together to optimize their storage....but its overkill when you just need to put on some shoes to goto the store.

 

yeah so the bottom line is for plugins that really dont NEED sql to store there data flat files are preferred? I do agree its nice when all you have to do is drag and drop plugins into the folder and reload to have it work but SQL is nice somtimes...this is good to know, ill keep it in mind for my plugins

 

Think its up to the end user on whats preferred, some people love SQL no matter what.
it's just my personal preference of no reason to make usage of data overly complicated, or storage of that data dependent on extra protocols, if that data is small, or gets called maybe once every 10 minutes.

 

I use MySQL due to sometimes i Need A fresh Server, Insted Of transfering all the files i have evrything in a DB, I think its a Plus if a plugin have SQL support.

Also, Good if you need to Dusplay Information on a Website That plugins are Gathering.

 

yeah thats another good point, super easy to transfer data between servers. i bet you could even have multiple iconemys running on the same sql server across 2 servers

 

Its already stated, but many people don't even know how to use an sql database. Plugin developers could add it, but most users need just basic flat files. Unless you are running a server with 50 plus players then it worth it.

With no experience with MySQL how many people could actually figure it out?

 

I usually add SQLite support so I can satisfy those who don't want to hassle with MySQL (or can't even set it up). MySQL is sometimes annoying to setup but otherwise good. I use both.

 

well i usualy provide a tutorial on the project page...

 

For plugins that store vast amounts of data (HawkEye et al), I like MySQL, but for most plugins I prefer being able to open a YML file in gedit and change stuff myself.

 

yeah thats pretty true

 

I dislike sql due to the misconception that it's faster over small datasets than simple flatfile.