What is MySQL?

• MySQL is an SQL based relational database management system that runs on more than 20 platforms including Windows, Linux, OS/X, HP-UX and many more. • The owner and producer of MySQL is a Swedish company called MySQL AB. They provide services and training programs for MySQL users. The software’s official website http://www.mysql.com gives the latest information about the company and MySQL. • MySQL is declared the world’s most popular open source database by its founders: “It's used in more than 6 million installations ranging from large corporations to specialized embedded applications on every continent in the world. (Yes, even Antarctica!).” www.mysql.com • The reasons for its popularity are: 􀂃It is free and open source! Users can download the code for free and modify it according to their needs. 􀂃Its consistent fast performance. Speed is crucial in database driven applications since the time it takes for the user to see the result of a query is the main performance measure for the application. 􀂃High reliability. Every release of MySQL is heavily tested by users and developers all over the world since it is free of charge and open source. 􀂃Ease of use. The main interaction with the MySQL server is through SQL commands which are easy to master! 􀂃It is supported by PHP (more on this later). • A brief history of the software, its name and its logo from its founders at http://dev.mysql.com: “We started out with the intention of using mSQL to connect to our tables using our own fast low-level (ISAM) routines. However, after some testing, we came to the conclusion that mSQL was not fast enough or flexible enough for our needs. This resulted in a new SQL interface to our database but with almost the same API interface as mSQL. This API was designed to allow third-party code that was written for use with mSQL to be ported easily for use with MySQL. The derivation of the name MySQL is not clear. Our base directory and a large number of our libraries and tools have had the prefix “my” for well over 10 years. However, co-founder Monty Widenius's daughter is also named My. Which of the two gave its name to MySQL is still a mystery, even for us. The name of the MySQL Dolphin (our logo) is “Sakila,” which was chosen by the founders of MySQL AB from a huge list of names suggested by users in our “Name the Dolphin” contest. The winning name was submitted by Ambrose Twebaze, an Open Source software developer from Swaziland, Africa. According to Ambrose, the feminine name Sakila has its roots in SiSwati, the local language of Swaziland. Sakila is also the name of a town in Arusha, Tanzania, near Ambrose's country of origin, Uganda.” • Useful Links and References: 􀂃http://www.mysql.com The official MySQL website. Latest news, manuals, downloads. 􀂃Manuals: http://dev.mysql.com/doc/ 􀂃Downloads: http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/ 􀂃http://forums.mysql.com/ You can search for and read about MySQL related topics or ask your own questions here. In particular, you can find the topics related to PHP & MySQL at http://forums.mysql.com/list.php?52 . 􀂃http://forums.devshed.com/f4/s.html Another popular forum on MySQL. 􀂃http://www.analysisandsolutions.com/code/mybasic An online tutorial on MySQL basics. 􀂃Books: 􀂃Beginning Databases with MySQL Author(s): Neil Matthew, Richard Stones