Bill Sim wrote:
Hello,
We're making a development decision soon to use Ruby to develop a front end for our system. The backend currently runs on Postgresql.
That sounds like good decisions all around. Will you be using Rails, or some other Ruby framework?
Some contractors are pushing us to change the backend database to MySQL, simply because it's more common to work with Ruby + MySQL.
It's certainly true that more people use mySQL than Postgres. It's also
true that more people own Windows boxes than Macs. Popular !=
advisable. 
OK, that was snarky. I agree with others on this thread that PostgreSQL is a better DBMS than mySQL, and no decent developer should have much problem with it.
We prefer not to support more than one kind of database in house.
We have gotten push back from contractors, who have said, "If it's not MySQL, I wont bid on it."
That's silly. (I'll bid on your PostgreSQL projects any day!)
I am not a Ruby Developer (IANARD), but I would like to know if there is an issue with using Ruby + Postgres.
Not that I know of. I use them together all the time.
Someone indicated that Ruby + MySQL play nice together, whereas it's problematic to use other kinds of DBs.
This sounds ridiculous to me,
And so it is. It's not problematic at all; in fact, I recommend it.
but if I'm missing something, I would love to hear some opinions. Is there an issue with support for Ruby+Postgres?
Yes. The issue is that you won't be able to hire inexperienced
developers who don't want to think about anything but mySQL. 
Thanks, Bill
Best,
