This is really awesome, just a few downsides (for me):
I don't use postgres - I hope heroku expands this kind of service to more databases (although I don't think it's likely in the near future).
The smallest database is also pretty expensive. I wouldn't mind a cheaper plan for less resources.
Only being able to create one database of each size is just weird, especially if forking or following. Can anybody confirm that this is a limitation? (I only read about this from one of the other comments here)
We are unlikely to offer MySQL at any point in the near future. We feel that across the board, Postgres has the best data robustness guarantees, the most powerful query optimizer, the strongest replication solutions, the most useful datatypes, and the greatest community driving, developing and supporting it.
We hear you on the cheaper plan; watch this space.
Last, there is no restriction on creating only one database of each size.
Honestly when you list the merits of Postgres like that you sound like a used car salesman. "Of course you think you want that but really you want all of this." We all get that Postgres is great. Saying "no we won't implement a feature you, our customer, wants" like this just rubs me the wrong way.
Is there some technical reason that you can't offer both?
What would you like Heroku to do with a MySQL on EC2 offering that Amazon is not currently doing with their MySQL on EC2 offering (Amazon RDS)? They are both local, use the same underlying infrastructure, and have Heroku add-ons, no?
Presumably, their decision to only support Postgres is partly competition (many others provide MySQL on EC2), and partly technical. How would you justify the technical merits of the decision, without sounding "like a used car salesman"?
Sorry, I thought you wanted to know why we chose Postgres over MySQL.
Those are the specific features I think that make Postgres a better choice for both use as my day-to-day database and why we chose Postgres over MySQL for building a database service.
Certainly you could build a similar service on top of, say, RDS, but without the features listed above, I think it would take a lot more work and not come out as well.
In case you're using Mysql, give Postgres a try -- it's really awesome.
I do agree about them being expensive. Their services in general are too expensive for me -- personally I prefer to manage my own EC2 instances. But they do provide value worth paying for depending on your needs.
I don't use postgres - I hope heroku expands this kind of service to more databases (although I don't think it's likely in the near future).
The smallest database is also pretty expensive. I wouldn't mind a cheaper plan for less resources.
Only being able to create one database of each size is just weird, especially if forking or following. Can anybody confirm that this is a limitation? (I only read about this from one of the other comments here)