*Result*: STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS FOR DATABASE SYSTEMS: POSTGRESQL VS. MICROSOFT SQL SERVER.

*In this paper, we conducted a comprehensive study of two leading relational database management systems: Microsoft SQL Server and PostgreSQL, representing commercial and open-source software development models respectively. We developed several comparison criteria ranging from toolset availability and platform support to syntax and semantic differences between the systems. We performed a systematic analysis of architectural differences, language constructs, and functional capabilities of both systems based on current versions MS SQL Server 2022 and PostgreSQL 17.5. The analysis revealed differences in operational capabilities and design philosophies between the two systems, particularly in their handling of Unicode text processing, binary data storage, and cross-database operations. We identified critical divergences in approaches to namespace organization, cross-database query processing, data type implementation, and indexing mechanisms. PostgreSQL's unified approach to data types and its support for advanced features like native JSON operators and array handling contrast with MS SQL Server's more specialized type system and its distinction between clustered and non-clustered indexing structures. We found that PostgreSQL demonstrates superior platform independence and extensibility due to its open architecture, while MS SQL Server provides deeper integration with the Microsoft ecosystem and offers more differentiated index types. The study also highlighted the educational implications of these differences, particularly in the context of Ukrainian academic institutions where Microsoft products dominate, potentially limiting students' exposure to industry-standard open-source alternatives that offer comparable functionality at reduced institutional costs. We demonstrated that our methodology can be applied to future RDBMS research and can help Ukrainian universities integrate more open-source software into their database curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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