SQL Server vs. The World

I recently had a conversation with a good friend of mine about the merits SQL Server and other databases, and I felt rather unqualified to really comment on any differences between them. I work with SQL Server on a daily basis, know it well and love it. but at the same time, I got by just fine before I got a cellphone when I was 12, just because I didn't know any better.

As such, I decided to start teaching myself LAMP development as a side project ((L)inux (A)pache (M)ySQL (P)HP for those who don't know). I'ts been a lot of fun, and I'm still far from being able to really speak to the operational differences between the two, but I do have some initial impressions about MySQL.

Pros
- Easy to get started (free download, easy install, up and running quickly)
- For everything I've used it for thus far, it performs, on a bad day, just as well as SQL Server.
- A lot of freely available support software such as a GUI, admin tool, etc
- Easily integrates with LAMP technology (there is a lot of collaboration between the communities of Linux Apache MySQL and PHP so that they flow pretty flawlessly)

Neutral (depending on viewpoint)
- Advanced syntax much different from TSQL,
- More complex configurations can require a strong understanding of the linux terminal and various command line utilities.

Cons
- The amount of documentation and helpful resources available for MySQL (and many of the LAMP technologies) pales in comparison to that available for SQL Server, making learning much more challenging
- Complex data integration tools, and limited BI support.

Conclusion: I don't have one yet. Functionally, it seems to run just as well for all intents and purposes. Since I'm still in the learning process of it, it's significantly more challenging for me than it is for me to do TSQL right now, but that also makes it a lot of fun to work on. If I had to venture a comment comparing the two right now, I would say that MySQL is free, but harder to learn, SQL Server (versions other than Express) is not free, but much more easy to learn. At the risk of sounding cliche, it comes down to personal choice.

Also, I'll freely admit that I chose to work with SQL Server initially because there is more money in it than doing LAMP Development (usually).

At an enterprise level, I have no idea which works better and for what scenarios, but if you are a smaller organization, or just someone looking to do database development, pick what you like, and get really good at it. It's a lot of fun when you start to think in terms of a programming language, be it TSQL, MySQL, or PL/SQL