What is a MySQL database?

MySQL (pronounced "my ess cue el," not "my sequel") is an open source relational database management system (RDBMS) that uses Structured Query Language (SQL), the most popular language for adding, accessing, and processing data in a database. Because it is open source, anyone can download MySQL and tailor it to their needs in accordance with the general public license. MySQL is noted mainly for its speed, reliability, and flexibility. Most agree, however, that it works best when managing content and not executing transactions.
The MySQL relational database system was first released in January, 1998. It is fully multi-threaded using kernel threads, provides application program interfaces (APIs) for C, C++, Eiffel, Java, Perl, PHP, Python, and Tcl, allows for many column types, and offers full operator and function support in the SELECT and WHERE parts of queries.

The development team working on future releases of MySQL plan to unveil MySQL 4.0 in mid-2001. Its features will include a new table definition file format, enhanced replication, and more functions for a full-text search. Later, MySQL developers hope to add fail-safe replication, a port of MySQL to BeOS, and an option to periodically flush key pages for tables with delayed keys. Over time, MySQL plans to be fully ANSI 92/ANSI 99- compliant.

MySQL currently runs on the Linux, Unix, and Windows platforms. Many Internet startups have been especially interested in MySQL as an alternative to the proprietary database systems from Oracle, IBM, and Informix.