MySQL debabbled
On to part three in my semi-random series on open source applications, an overview of the popular database platform, MySQL. To make this one a little more accessible, I'm going to first discuss SQL in general (which, to make my job harder, really has two meanings in geek-speak) and then dive in to MySQL.What is SQL?
SQL officially stands for Structured Query Language, and it is essentially a standardized way of communicating with (or "querying") many different types of databases. SQL (sometimes pronounced "sequel") is really a rudimentary programming language, a set of commands to retrieve and update data. Just to give you a taste, if you had a database of business contacts called "Contacts" and you wanted to request a list of the last names of those contacts (in a column/field you've called "LastName") in alphabetical order, the SQL command might look something like:
What is MySQL?
MySQL is an SQL database engine that has become popular with the open source community. MySQL is not actually open source, but is a commercial property developed by the Swedish company MySQL AB. However, MySQL is frequently distributed for free and has become a staple of open source website development.
What's in it for me?
If you're using an open source platform for your website, you're probably already using MySQL. Simply put, MySQL has much of the power of other commercial SQL products, but is free to most end-users. Many companies continue to use the larger commercial products for the support and stability of the companies backing them, but MySQL is definitely gaining in acceptance, and its relatively open nature will likely change the landscape (or at least the pricing) of commercial database products.
