I am looking at implementing a relatively simple database for information management at the Santa Fe Farmers Market and will likely end up using a PHP/mySQL solution. However, Ruby on Rails with postgreSQL has me intrigued. postgreSQL vs mySQL comparisons are mixed, with mySQL appearing correct for lighter applications, but severely disadvantaged for larger projects.

The ever-hyped basecamp is apparently rails’ birthplace. CD-Baby is being rewritten using rails/postgreSQL. hobix, the white pantsuit of weblahhing (hohoho), is a blogging app quickly picking up on the ruby boat (and adding yaml and textile(bleh) ).

Quotes like, “Ruby on Rails is astounding. Using it is like watching a kung-fu movie, where a dozen bad-ass frameworks prepare to beat up the little newcomer only to be handed their asses in a variety of imaginative ways.”, are everywhere. I can’t tell you whether this is just a hype splinter riding a few high profile site memes… but I can say that the hype is impressive and widespread.

Unfortunately, dreamhost’s support of ruby on rails is definitively lame without fastCGI, and absent entirely for postgreSQL (dreamhost customers, vote for support! Dreamhost… lets get this going!

Looking forward to dabbling a bit deeper into these languages.