FAQ === Why is *Database X* not an option? / Why does Postgresql < 9.1 not work? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ seantis.reservation relies on a Postgresql feature introduced in 9.1 called "Serialized Transactions". Serialized transactions are transactions that, run on multiuser systems, are guaranteed to behave like they are run on a singleuser system. In other words, serialized transactions make it much easier to ensure that the data stays sane even when multiple write transactions are run concurrently. Other databases, like Oracle, also support this feature and it would be possible to support those databases as well. Patches welcome. Note that MySQL has serialized transactions with InnoDB, but the documentation does not make any clear guarantees and there is a debate going on: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6269471/does-mysql-innodb-implement-true-serializable-isolation For more information see :ref:`serialized-transactions`. Why did you choose SQL anyway? Why not *insert your favorite NoSQL DB here*? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - If a reservation is granted to you, noone else must get the same grant. Primary keys and transactions are a natural fit to ensure that. - Our data model is heavily structured and needs to be validated against a schema. - All clients must have the same data at all time. Not just eventually. - Complicated queries must be easy to develop as reporting matters.