Chapter 1. Introduction to MySQL

Part 1: Introduction and Tutorials

This part of the book presents information that is useful to readers
who need a basic introduction to MySQL. This part will probably not be
sufficient for someone who is totally new to database programming and
administration; a host of other introductory books exist for that reader.
However, this part can provide the necessary background to someone who has
some knowledge of other databases and wants to move to MySQL, who has used
a MySQL database on a hosting service and wants to create a standalone
server, or who has other gaps in introductory knowledge. Installation,
basic configuration, and essential SQL are explained in this part of the
book.

Chapter 1. Introduction to MySQL

MySQL is an open source, multithreaded, relational database management
system created by Michael "Monty" Widenius in 1995. In 2000, MySQL was released under a dual-license model
that permitted the public to use it for free under the GNU General Public
License (GPL); this caused its popularity to soar. The company that owns and
develops MySQL is MySQL AB (the AB stands for
aktiebolag, the Swedish term for stock company), which
is now a subsidiary of Sun Microsystems. Currently, MySQL AB estimates that
there are more than 6 million installations of MySQL worldwide, and reports
an average of 50,000 downloads a day of MySQL installation software from its
site and from mirror sites. The success of MySQL as a leading database is
due not only to its price—after all, other cost-free and open source databases are available—but also its
reliability, performance, and features.

1.1. The Value of MySQL

Many features contribute to MySQL's standing as a superb database
system. Its speed is one of its most prominent features. In a comparison
by eWEEK of several databases—including MySQL,
Oracle, MS SQL, IBM DB2, and Sybase ASE—MySQL and Oracle tied for best
performance and for greatest scalability (see http://www.mysql.com/it-resources/benchmarks for more
details). MySQL is remarkably scalable, and is able to handle tens of
thousands of tables and billions of rows of data. Plus, it manages small
amounts of data quickly and smoothly.

The storage engine, which manages queries and interfaces between a
user's SQL statements and the database's backend storage, is the critical
software in any database management system. MySQL offers several storage
engines with different advantages. Some are transaction-safe storage
engines that allow for rollback of data. Additionally, MySQL has a
tremendous number of built-in functions that are detailed in several
chapters of this book. MySQL is also very well known for rapid and stable
improvements. Each new release comes with speed and stability upgrades, as
well as new features.