The MySQL database server
is the world's most popular open source database. MySQL Database Server architecture
makes MySQL Database Server extremely fast and easy to customize. Extensive reuse
of code within the software and a minimalistic approach to
producing functionally-rich features has resulted in a database
management system unmatched in speed, compactness, stability
and ease of deployment. The unique separation of the core
server from the storage engine makes MySQL Database Server possible to run with
strict transaction control or with ultra-fast transactionless
disk access, whichever is most appropriate for the situation.
The MySQL database server is available without a license
fee under the GNU General Public License (GPL). Commercial
non GPL licenses are available for users who prefer not
to be restricted by the terms of the GPL.
There are four versions of the database server available:
MySQL Standard includes the standard MySQL storage engines
and the InnoDB storage engine. InnoDB is a transaction-safe,
ACID-compliant storage engine with commit, rollback, crash
recovery and row-level locking capabilities. This version
is for users who want the high-performance MySQL database
with full transaction support. MySQL Standard is licensed
under the GPL. MySQL Pro is the commercially-licensed version
of the server with the same feature-set.
MySQL Max is for the user who wants early access to new
features. This version includes the standard MySQL storage
engines, the InnoDB storage engine, and other extras like
the Berkeley database (BDB) storage engine, and support
for splitting tables across multiple files to avoid operating
system file size limitations. In future releases, MySQL
Max will include more cutting-edge features.
MySQL Pro is the commercially licensed version of the MySQL
Standard database server, including InnoDB support.
MySQL Classic only includes the standard MySQL storage
engines, differing from MySQL Pro and MySQL Standard only
by the omission of the InnoDB storage engine. It is only
available under a commercial license.
