By jordi on

Hey!

I've been a Drupal user since 4.1, and I've always used PostgreSQL as my backend database. I know, MySQL was the way, but I had the feeling that PostgreSQL/PEAR support would get better and better over time.

Anyway, PEAR support was finally dropped on 4.6, and I find myself in the cold, with a silly PostgreSQL database with lots of data that I'd like to convert to MySQL before upgrading to 4.6.

Does anyone have past experiences with this type of migration, or do I definitely need to start from scratch (which would trully suck)?

TIA!

Comments

nedjo’s picture

nedjo
he/him/his
Primary language English
commented

Isn't Postgresql still supported, just not through PEAR?

jordi’s picture

jordi commented

As far as I know, no, PostgreSQL was supported via PEAR only.

Am I wrong?

mhutch’s picture

mhutch commented

PostgreSQL is still supported, and you won't have to make any changes. It'll work it out from the database url like before. Drupal's simply using its own abstraction layer rather than all that silly PEAR stuff :)

That said, if you do have access to MySQL, you'll have a far smoother experience. Most modules still have a MySQL-centric view of the world: often you'll have to convert the table creation script, and sometimes patch up the SQL queries to them to get them to work with MySQL. In general it gets better as modules get more established and get patches submitted.

jordi’s picture

jordi commented

Somehow I hadn't realised this or I had forgot totally.
Michael, when you fix up the PostgreSQL stuff, do the fixes end up in CVS?

mhutch’s picture

mhutch commented

For Drupal 4.5 I submitted a few patches, but Drupal 4.6 has been almost flawless. My installation was an upgrade from 4.5 with all the fixes I'd applied there, so that may explain why I'm finding it easier.

All I had to do this time round was fix the table creation SQL for the new modules I was installing with my guess of the nearest PostgreSQL types. I really should have submitted these as patches, but didn't get round to it. If you send me the details of the modules that are giving you grief, I'll have a go. As to whether the patches actually end up in CVS, that's up to the module maintainers.

I've been having some trouble with modules dying silently when I place them in the module folder, but I think that's my host's locked down PHP settings - safe mode etc. PostgreSQL would be throwing errors.