Forum OpenACS Q&A: Thanks (and more questions...)

Jade:  I'm also looking to do development on a TiBook.  I usually prefer *BSD to Linux, but I guess I'll go with either Linux or OS X.
I think I read somewhere on this site that Red Hat is the preferred distro of Linux (if I end up chickening out on the OS X)?

Russell:  I'd love to be updated about your progress with an OpenACS/OS X combo in a production environment as you work with your client.  I'll try to reciprocate, although I'm sure I'll make MUCH slower headway...my company runs almost everything on OS X, so I really want to be able to get something working.

Michael:  Thank you! You're one heckuva tour guide.  I would love to see OpenACS scream on an Xserve (everything else I've tried on Xserve does, in fact, go Mach X ;) )

Didn't you mention pgMac on another post?
Have you (or anyone else) actually tried it? - I seem to be their ideal customer (I'm stupid/inexperienced and have $250.)

I would think a decent CMS would be a higher priority than it is, since it is such a common need?

Andrew:  Last time I looked at Postgres it was not anywhere near Frontbase in functionality/ease of use (Of course, I know they've both made quantum leaps since then...)

I won't actually make an argument that Frontbase is better than anything, since I'm not experienced enough to fully understand the subtle technical merits of RDBMS.  I will, however, ask you a question:  If you could use either Postgress OR Oracle - free of all charges, which would you choose?  Oracle, right?

At my last start-up I hired a senior Oracle DBA, an OCP who had worked for Oracle.  He ended up choosing Frontbase over Oracle 8, even though we were budgeted for Oracle and had already purchased Oracle training contracts for our junior DBAs.(!)  This was after extensive testing, BTW.

We saved enough on db licenses, training, and overtime to...well, we saved MUCHO.  (Of course, we were implementing in WebObjects - and a few servlets - so the Frontbase EOF support saved us a great deal of time additionally.)

Of course, this is just an anecdotal thing - but I thought I would relay our experiences so that you wouldn't dismiss Frontbase out of hand if you ever have to work on OS X...their website is at frontbase.com.

We have no legacy code in Frontbase for the apps I'm planning, but it would be trivial to have one of my employees or a third-party (i.e. a real programmer) write a db driver.  [I'm just a dabbler, but I have access to actual talent;) ]

I guess since I don't have a good reason to use Frontbase, I'll learn Postgres.  Any Postgres book recommendations? The Momjian book gave me a headache once ;)

Now that I've mentioned WebObjects, I just have to ask:  would there be any (likely to happen) way to implement something like EOF and/or the session management methods of WO in OpenACS?  (Cookies are UGLY!)

Please be kind, remember that I'm ignorant;)