I disgust the quoting mechanisms used in mysql, so my "dealing with MySQL" usually can be summarized in making a CSV dump of a MySQL database using perl scripts written ages ago, and then loading that data into PostgreSQL database with same schema so I can continue without being annoyed all the time.

e.g. So far *only* mysql is - in the default configuration - *refusing* to accept valid ANSI SQL statements like select count (*) from foo;. That space between count and (*) is only seen as valid when one adds to the global config:

[mysqld]
sql_mode=IGNORE_SPACE
[download]

So much for ANSI conformance. And that illness is still true in MariaDB 5.5.33:

MariaDB [test]> create table foo (c_foo integer);
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.46 sec)

MariaDB [test]> select count (*) from foo;
ERROR 1064 (42000): You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the ma
+nual that corresponds to your MariaDB server version for the right sy
+ntax to use near '*) from foo' at line 1
MariaDB [test]> select count(*) from foo;
+----------+
| count(*) |
+----------+
|        0 |
+----------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

MariaDB [test]>
[download]

HATE!

IMHO there is no ideal database. Every database has its annoyances. It is still software after all, but Oracle and MySQL really make me curse much more than all the others combined.