MySQL 5.0-alpha Released to the Public

hendridm writes "The new 5.0-alpha release of MySQL includes the addition of stored procedures, as well as other advances designed to enhance the development of large-scale enterprise database applications. The MySQL 5.0 alpha development release is now available for testing and evaluation by the open source community. There's more info via CNET News, or you can download your copy today."

Comments

Commercial

[ByteSlicer]

MySQL is a commercial open-source company
Strange to see the words "commercial" and "open-source" being used in the same sentence. They prove it can be done!

Re:Commercial

[__past__]

And a lot of confused and/or annoyed users after their recent license changes, combined with rumors about their "interesting" interpretation of the GPL, prove that this is not neccessarily always a good thing.

Re:Commercial

[Bistronaut]

The lead-in paragraph:

"Open-source database company MySQL continues to add capabilities common to commercial database software as it tries to shake up the multibillion-dollar market."

How about adding the word "other" in front of the word "commercial", CNET? MySQL is a commercial database. I hate it when people try to contrast "open source" software with "commercial" software. A lot of open-source software is commercial software. Open-source software should be contrasted to proprietary software, if you're looking for something to contrast it with.

Oh, and MySQL still doesn't do anything better than PostgreSQL does except Windows. :-P <begin flame war>

Re:Commercial

[samjam]

And what info do you have about the recent license change? Perhaps you mean this but the mysql license page says its GPL with PHP exceptions.

You post was sparse its hard to tell if these were the rumours you were talking about.

Re:Commercial

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah it's like when I tell my friends "I only pay for Free software".... heh

Re:fp

[babbage]

So... does this count as a dupe, or does the fact that now there's an official announcement from MySQL AB with today's date on it make this one more concrete somehow?

Re:fp

[Anonymous Coward]

And you didn't even take the time to mention that mySQL isn't a real database without stored pro.....oh.

First alpha = public?????

[Tuxinatorium]

I'm having flashbacks to the Doom 3 leak...

What is the Programming Language?

[anomalous cohort]

From the press release (I got to it before it was /.ed)

MySQL stored procedures are based on SQL:2003, a common standard for syntax, data structures, and retrieval processes of SQL databases.

I couldn't find anything concerning Stored Procedures in SQL:2003 via google but from their own site, it looks like it is what is common to both PL/SQL and T-SQL. No embedded VM here.

Re:What is the Programming Language?

[Anonymous Coward]

As far as I could tell, SQL:2003 hasn't actually been finished and released yet. At first glance it looks like MySQL implements standard SQL/PSM (persistent stored modules, first specified in SQL99), not just a subset of proprietary sproc languages.

Re:What is the Programming Language?

[ninejaguar]

Interesting comparison between the commercial SQL vendors regarding SQL standards.

= 9J =

Everyones ambitious

[mnmn]

Do they really have to look up and try to compete with enterprise databasen? Theyre really in a good niche where some deem postgresql to be too big and complex, yet where basic SQL is a requirement and db4 doesnt work.

Mysql's strength has been in web backends and simple applications that outgrow hash databases, and small databases that require multiplatform database connections. Them trying to outgrow their niche and join the crowded markets is like shooting themselves in the foot. They should spend time refining, debugging, adding more functions and features suitable at that scale, speeding it up, standardizing the source code and porting it to hell and back.

Re:Everyones ambitious

[Anonymous Coward]

Databasen? Please go and kill yourself now.

Re:Everyones ambitious

[hendridm]

I think part of their strengths over PostgreSQL is their native support for multiple platforums (especially a Windows binary). This allows developers to install it on their Windows machines, and allows web hosting companies to standardize on one (free) database across all platforms. I think budget web hosting was where MySQL gained its popularity, and it just shot off from there.

Re:Everyones ambitious

[keot]

there has to be something scalable to bridge the gap between this and oracle. i guess mysql is trying to fill such a gap...

Re:Everyones ambitious

[zangdesign]

What's wrong with ambition? Without it, Linux wouldn't be everywhere that it is today. Personally, I think they should set their sights on making sure that they're better and faster than everyone else out there (Oracle included). At least it's something to shoot for, rather than deciding that what they produce is "good enough".

Re:Everyones ambitious

[spartacus9]

While I agree that time and effort needs to be devoted to issues involving speed and developing ports to many platforms, I also think that the lack of things like views, stored procedures and, until recently, the lack of transactions has forced people to look at other products when they would have preferred to stick with Mysql. The group I work with has used Mysql for years and are very eager to embrace the support for stored procedures and have no desire to move our applications, many of which are high-traffic and large databases, to another database server.

go mysql

[pizza_milkshake]

people bash mysql over one thing or another, but i've been happy with 4.0.x, looking forward to a stable 4.1 and once 5.x is stable there are few features they won't have that i might need for my own development. good work, mysql!

SQLLite

[ChopsMIDI]

too big and complex, yet where basic SQL is a requirement

I've always liked MySQL, and continue to like the features they add to it. But if you're looking for a very basic SQL package, check out SQLLite.

It implements most of the SQL92 Standard and it is a library rather than a daemon.

Just something for those of you that don't like MySQL adding tons of features (stored Procs, triggers, etc).

Re:fp

[Anonymous Coward]

:-)

yeah, that kind of restricted my sniping options, and i was too bored & hurried to be any more creative than that. which is to say, too bored to be creative at all. oh well, got the fp though, my /. initation is complete or something...

dnliinr

Re:fp

[krow]

It is a dupe.

To enable

[Anonymous Coward]

"to enhance the development of large-scale enterprise database applications"

should be "to enable".

A duplicate code report...

[tcopeland]

...is right here.

Looks pretty good; there are some duplicates that could be knocked out, though - in db_server_xdr.c, for example.

License?

[jgoemat]

So is it the standard GPL or a derivative? In the download it looks like the COPYING file is standard GPL. Doesn't that mean that I could use it on a commercial system freely as long as I don't link to the code? They seem to say that if anything in your appliation is commercial that you should buy a commercial license. What if your company is a service bureau, you would install mysql and setup the database, then have a proprietary system that accesses the database for filling orders, managing inventory, etc.?

4.1?

[LauraW]

So what happened to MySQL 4.1? Last time I looked, it was still in alpha too. Did they decide to skip it and go straight to 5.0? Or did they decide that twice the alphas means twice the testing?

Re:MySQL? How quaint.

[Anonymous Coward]

[Snigger] - 500 rows - large? how quaint.