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MySQL 5.0 Candidate Released

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the it'll-be-awhile-before-we-get-to-upgrade dept.

Brian "Krow" Aker (Former Slashdot Coder now MySQL Employee) writes "I am pleased to announce the release candidate for MySQL 5.0. This version has been in development now for three years. We have worked to add update-able views, ansi stored procedures, and triggers. In addition we have added a number of fun features that we are experimenting with and resolved issues with bad data inserts (which personally annoyed the hell out of me when we rewrote Slashdot a couple of years back so I am happy to see this issue go away). We look forward to feedback on the candidate and will show some love for bug reports."

5 of 339 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Is it a "real" database yet? by codesurfer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'd say so...despite the detractors, I've been able to use MySQL for many highly trafficed sites, and heavily used applications. Does it have the full robustness of Oracle? Of course not, but it also does not come with the accompanying price tag. Choice of db software is just that...a choice. I can envisage situations in which I may prefer having Oracle, but to be honest, MySQL addresses most day to day situations more than adequately. It's a real db, IMO.

  2. Re:Time for new comparisons to be made. by tdemark · · Score: 5, Interesting

    And of course you can't include Oracle in any impartial study.

    You could, except for the fact that the license you just paid thousands per CPU for doesn't allow you to publish the results.

  3. Examine t he license carefully!! by scorp1us · · Score: 5, Informative
    After the 3.x series, the license changed drastically. Of course you won't find this discussed much. The permitted uses of MySQL as GPL are significantly reduced. You can only use MySQL in conjuction with OSS. Previously, you could use MySQL in a non-GPL environment under several permissive conditions. The new license is so restrictive now that a special exception is made for PHP

    Specifically:

            * MySQL is free use for those who are 100% GPL. If your application is licensed under GPL or compatible OSI license approved by MySQL AB, you are free to ship any GPL software of MySQL AB with your application ('application' means any type of software application, system, tool or utility). You do not need a separate signed agreement with MySQL AB, because the GPL license is sufficient. We do, however, recommend you contact us as there usually are good opportunities for partnership and co-marketing.


            * Under the Open Source License, you must release the complete source code for the application that is built on MySQL. You do not need to release the source code for components that are generally installed on the operating system on which your application runs, such as system header files or libraries.


            * Free use for those who never copy, modify or distribute. As long as you never distribute the MySQL Software in any way, you are free to use it for powering your application, irrespective of whether your application is under GPL license or not.


            * You are allowed to modify MySQL Software source code any way you like as long as the distributed derivative work is licensed under the GPL as well.


            * You are allowed to copy MySQL binaries and source code, but when you do so, the copies will fall under the GPL license.


            * Optional GPL License Exception for PHP. As a special exception, MySQL AB gives permission to distribute derivative works that are formed with GPL-licensed MySQL software and with software licensed under version 3.0 of the PHP license. You must obey the GNU General Public License in all respects for all of the code used other than code licensed under version 3.0 of the PHP license.


            * FLOSS License Exception. We have created a license exception which enables Free/Libre and Open Source software ("FLOSS") to be able to include the GPL-licensed MySQL client libraries despite the fact that not all open source licenses are compatible with the GPL (this includes the PHP license version 3.0). Read more about the FLOSS License Exception.



    Considering the new license and still lacking features, there is little reason to use MySQL. Postgres has "all that anda bag of potato chips."

    --
    Slashdot's rate-of-post filter: Preventing you from posting too many great ideas at once.
  4. I think you miss the point by Fished · · Score: 5, Informative
    The point is not whether MySQL is a "real" database. Clearly, it is a real database that is capable of doing real work.

    The point is that, even in recent versions, MySQL has some serious limitations that other OSS databases (e.g. PostgreSQL) do not suffer from, and no really significant corresponding advantages. MySQL was not designed from the ground up to be many things it is now trying to be--it was not designed to support transactions, it was not designed to support foreign keys, it was not designed to support stored procedures. It was initially conceived as a small, fast database for managing very large datasets in a warehousing sort of role. PostgreSQL, on the other hand, was always conceived of as being a heavier-duty database, and this shows in terms of feature completeness and SQL standard compliance.

    Given that the performance differential (which was always overstated) has been overcome, why would you want to go with MySQL only to discover what the latest feature to be missed was? What's the advantage to MySQL?

    --
    "He who would learn astronomy, and other recondite arts, let him go elsewhere. " -- John Calvin, commenting on Genesis 1
  5. Re:What about those [MySQL] gotchas? by minginqunt · · Score: 5, Informative

    No true.

    Those gotchas all (mostly) go away if you run MySQL 5.0 in strict mode. Compatibility mode is provided for 4.1 and back-asswards behaviour if you need it.

    See: http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/server-sql-mode. html

    Martin