MySQL for industrial applications

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Thread Starter

Hung Lam

Hello,

MySQL is very successful when using with PHP and Apache web servers, but I do not know if it is also good for industrial applications. I would like to know the pros. and cons. of MySQL database for SCADA/HMI?

Thanks.
Hung Lam
 
One major disadvantage of MySQL is that it does not support stored procedures nor triggers. Trying to do industrial applications without these two elements wouldn't be practical.
 
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Paul Alapatt

Hey,

MYSQL is really something that the whole automation community should be looking at, I have been like using MYSQL for over 2years for automation related projects and specifically for HMI in automation and HM in DCS systems.

The only cons are that....its not as powerfull as an ORACEL8i, but can do as well and even better in 99% of the cases. In fact I recently came across an article mentioning NASA to be using MYSQL.

The benefits on the contrary are that highly scalable, U can re-write the whole thing to suit Ur requirments, U can keep on updating pacthes for bugs and securties which Oracle cannot do. Also being opensource and ODBC compliant and XML compliant U can set up SOAP and RPC servers in a jiffy, making Ur HMI and automation state of the art.

With the next version of MYSQL, it should be in the super league with powerfull tools.

One thing that could be an hinderant would be the fact U will see most apps are written specifically for the web and very less for local interfaces..........but thats where the ODBC and DLLs that come bundled along come in handy.
 
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Michael R. Batchelor

Pros: fast, small, data files directly viewable with text editor, runs fine on an old machine.

Cons: No foreign key support, data files directly viewable with text editor, weird license if you're looking for open source.

In my mind that lack of foreign key support is a show stopper. That leaves the end user application responsible for maintaining relational integrity of the data rather than leaving it to a rule set defined in and enforced by the data engine. However, throwing away the foreign keys saves tons of time on index generation, so it's fast as lightning.

Also, IMHO, the directly viewable data files are as much a bad thing as they are a good thing. Any idiot with vi can wreck your relational integrity just by hitting ZZ instead of :q!, but that can be controlled to a degree by permissions on the files.

Overall, I prefer Postgres to MySQL, but I don't dispute that MySQL has a legitimate place in many applications.

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Michael R. Batchelor - Industrial Informatics & Instrumentation, Inc.
 
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