[development] Why do we avoid auto-incrementing db columns?

[Mark Fredrickson]

I'd like to point out this is a really discussion about mysql, not
about other database. Postgresql Drupal installations haven't used a
sequences table ever, IIRC. As long as each database can implement
some equivalent of db_next_id() -- be it by a sequences table, auto
incremented values, Postgres's CURVAL() function, whatever -- Drupal's
db abstraction will work.

So let's rephrase: do the currently supported versions of mysql all
support some sort of db_next_id() functionality? What about Drupal 6?

If so, the sequences table can be dropped in favor of auto_increment.

-M