MySQL
MySQL is an open source relational database system with a long list of professional features. Developers can use it to create rich, dynamic web applications that can be relied upon in production.
- Broad support for ANSI SQL 99
- Excellent cross-platform support
- Support for stored procedures, triggers, cursors, and updatable views
- Free to use
- Feature rich
- Fast, reliable and battle tested
- Has an enormous user base, which is still growing
- Fallen behind some other relational database products, such as PostgreSQL and MariaDB
- Some modules are now closed source and proprietary
- Has been dropped by major Linux distributions
MySQL has a long and cherished history. It, along with the creation of Linux, helped spur the development of the web as we now know it. It is a powerful relational database system that has features comparable to any commercial product. It is also fast and reliable and battle tested. Its user base is enormous, and this user base is still growing. The software supports a broad subset of ANSI SQL 99, and it has excellent cross-platform support, as well support for stored procedures, triggers, cursors, updatable views, and a whole lot more. Since it was purchased by Sun Microsystems (which was subsequently purchased by Oracle), the software has gotten better and more sophisticated. There has also been more of a focus on the cloud and Big Data. On the negative side, in spite of increased development, MySQL has fallen behind some other database products, such as PostgreSQL and MariaDB, and it is no longer 100% open source. It feels more like a commercial product, especially as they no longer release road maps or accept patches. Because of this, many major Linux distribution have switched to MariaDB, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Slackware Linux, Fedora and openSUSE.