> We've requested a database from different companies, and specifically > said we wanted MySQL or PostgreSQL because of the open source angle > and we're a library. > One company offered MS SQL as the platform and said that they can later on > port it to MySQL. For this they wanted 18 000 euro. Now, what I want to know > is, how easy is it to port a (fairly complicated) database from MS SQL to > MySQL? It can't be work worth 18 000 euro, now can it?
This sounds like a reasonable price for the work. For this work they will have to : 1. Specify the changes and get signoff from you, the customer. 2. Check the capabilities of MySQL compared to their current databases. 3. Define the scope of the work (what areas it's likely to affect in their system). 3. Write a project plan and get signoff from you. 4. Do the development work. 5. Test internally. 6. Acceptance test with you, and get acceptance signoff. Don't forget, they will need to check every query in their system, as MySQL doesn't support (among others) subselects, triggers, and stored procedures. This is in no way a trivial task. A project like this is likely to take 6 weeks to complete, providing the consultancy work is not held up by the client. Typically you would expect to charge triple the labour costs to cover rent of building, desks, bills, PCs, advertising, a small profit, and a little extra to cover costs should slippage occur. Labour @ E5000 / month. = E15000 for 1 months work. or around E22,000 for 6 weeks (although it's unlikely to be 6 weeks solid, so E18,000 looks pretty reasonable). The actual development time is a very small component of the total cost. The consutlancy and testing are the main costs here. Russ. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Before posting, please check: http://www.mysql.com/manual.php (the manual) http://lists.mysql.com/ (the list archive) To request this thread, e-mail <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, e-mail <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Trouble unsubscribing? Try: http://lists.mysql.com/php/unsubscribe.php
