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CTE vs Subquery vs View: Which One Should You Use? Have you ever written an SQL query and wonder
V0 is now available! We'll release moreeee soooon .
Alright, let’s cut through the hype. MySQL vs PostgreSQL isn’t just about "which one is better?" it’s about which one is better for your specific problem.
I’ve seen both succeed (and fail) in production.
So let’s get into the real engineering trade-offs, not just surface-level feature comparisons.
✅ High-Throughput, Simple Queries (OLTP Workloads)
✅ Replication & Read Scaling (Without Headaches)
✅ You’re Using a Framework That Loves MySQL
⚠️ Where MySQL Falls Short
✅ Complex Queries & Analytical Workloads (OLAP)
✅ Data Integrity & Correctness
✅ Extensibility (The Real Game-Changer)
⚠️ Where PostgreSQL Falls Short
pg_wal/ like a hawk.MySQL:
FULLTEXT, like searching in the old google.PostgreSQL:
ts_vector and ts_query for advanced search.pg_trgm for fuzzy matching.PostgreSQL Example:
-- PostgreSQL: Proper search
SELECT
title, ts_rank_cd(text_search, query) AS rank
FROM
articles, plainto_tsquery('postgresql vs mysql') AS query
WHERE
text_search @@ query
ORDER BY rank DESC;MySQL:
PostgreSQL:
ST_Distance, ST_DWithin, ST_Intersects, ST_Contains.MySQL:
PostgreSQL:
SELECT * FROM users WHERE preferences->>'theme' = 'dark';-- Query a remote MySQL DB from PostgreSQL? Sure.
CREATE SERVER mysql_server FOREIGN DATA WRAPPER mysql_fdw;
CREATE FOREIGN TABLE remote_users (id INT, name TEXT)
SERVER mysql_server OPTIONS (dbname 'prod', table_name 'users');
-- Now query it like a local table
SELECT * FROM remote_users WHERE name LIKE 'John%';| Use Case | MySQL | PostgreSQL |
|---|---|---|
| Simple CRUD, high QPS | ✅ | ❌ |
| Complex analytics | ❌ | ✅ |
| Read-heavy scaling | ✅ | ✅ |
| Advanced extensions | ❌ | ✅ |
Companies using MySQL: Zoom, LinkedIn, Slack, Uber, Airbnb, GitHub. Companies using PostgreSQL: Apple, Instagram, Reddit, Twitch, IMDB.
you can check the decisions and why each company chose its database etc, and you ll see that there is no "i ll use this Database bc its ll make me look cool" No
Next deep dive: How to choose the right database for your project.
CTE vs Subquery vs View: Which One Should You Use? Have you ever written an SQL query and wonder