This version of my blog is now defunct and will no longer be updated. I have decided to bite the bullet and install and instance of MySQL in order to use WordPress. It will continue to exist in pure HTML format to preserve the links and URLs that have been indexed by the various search engines over the past couple of years. Please visit (and update your bookmarks to) the new Navigator's Quarters WordPress blog at:
February 2011 Archives
This is my final blog post using Movable Type. Several months ago, I learned that Six Apart would no longer natively support PostgreSQL in future versions of its software. Since then, I have been casually searching for a suitable replacement but found nothing worthwhile. I installed and briefly worked with Serendipity, but I couldn't find any noteworthy improvements over Movable Type, so I didn't think I would gain anything by a mere lateral migration. I began an earnest search for a replacement a few days ago and it appears that WordPress enjoys widespread support and receives good reviews from both users and administrators. The only problem -- and it is a very big problem for me -- is that the software only natively supports MySQL. I briefly used it back in the late-1990s. Suffice it to say that I am not now, have never been, nor will I ever be a proponent of MySQL, and I simply do not understand the size of the user base and acceptance it receives. Anyway, I held my nose and downloaded the Mac OS X version of the "database." Then I installed it and relearned the bare minimum I needed to create a database and configure a user account for a prototype WordPress installation.
It took less than five minutes to get WordPress up and running. I've been working with it for about an hour, getting comfortable with how it operates. I was able to install the syntaxhighlighter plugin with zero difficulty, enable it and put it to good use even more quickly. There is a utility called Pg4WP out there that I may try before going to production with WordPress, but I have a feeling that it may not be worthwhile. In the end, I'm once again reminded that we should never say never. I said that I'd never voluntarily run a MySQL instance in any environment, but may end up doing just that. How about this? I'll never voluntarily run a MySQL instance in an enterprise-level capacity!
It took less than five minutes to get WordPress up and running. I've been working with it for about an hour, getting comfortable with how it operates. I was able to install the syntaxhighlighter plugin with zero difficulty, enable it and put it to good use even more quickly. There is a utility called Pg4WP out there that I may try before going to production with WordPress, but I have a feeling that it may not be worthwhile. In the end, I'm once again reminded that we should never say never. I said that I'd never voluntarily run a MySQL instance in any environment, but may end up doing just that. How about this? I'll never voluntarily run a MySQL instance in an enterprise-level capacity!
