Databases: Adios MySQL, ¡Hola MariaDB?
Everything that comes in the course of time, goes in the course of time.
— Ancient Hindu proverb
It could be the turn of MySQL to go in the course of time.
The truth of the matter is that a large group of database user heavies (Google, Wikipedia, Red Hat et al) are exasperated with what could be the indifference of the owners of MySQL, Oracle Corp.
Apparently Oracle is peppering the open-source MySQL with proprietary modules, as well as not paying enough attention to ironing out bugs and incorporating necessary improvements in the venerable platform.
So where are the heavies turning to? Here:
MariaDB was created by many of the core developers of MySQL along with contributions from Facebook, Twitter and Google. It incorporates many of the above-mentioned improvements and bug fixes needed in MySQL. It’s in beta right now, and you can ask for an invite here if you like.
Whether it will actually overtake MySQL in the foreseeable future is indeed questionable. There are more than 59 million WordPress websites (source), for instance, and they all use MySQL… that is no small population. Apart from that are the army of enterprise users who will think twice before putting credit card numbers and other confidential data onto a yet-to-mature database structure.
So let’s keep watching. It may take years to see a clear result, but at lease we have one more way to keep busy!
Further reading:
Farewell, MySQL: Google, others ditch Oracle’s open-source database
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53fwQv_r6FE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKR6cvdUTnY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZHotNbACpk
