MySQL is a relational database management system that is completely free and open source (RDBMS). It was first made available as system software in 1995. MySQL-AB, a Swedish company, who provides most of the support. Oracle Corporation later acquired the software, which was then distributed under an open-source license.
This software combines two technologies, namely “My”- the name of co-founder Michael Widenius’s daughter and “SQL- Structured Query Language.” This programming language is mostly used to create web-based apps. MySQL is used to interface with programmes that need to interact with a relational database.
MySQL is a database management system written in C and C++ that runs on a variety of platforms and operating systems, including Linux, Solaris, and Windows. It is a dependable, stable, and strong solution to the user’s requirements.
Benefits/Service Offerings
MySQL is largely used for data storage in databases and web applications. Many services are available when MySQL is used, all of which improve performance and address technical issues. The benefits offered by MySQL can be:
Ideal for both small & large applications
Friendly to PHP
Supportive towards huge databases
It’s customizable in nature
Handles large subsets of the functionalities
Flexibility of Open source
Provides comprehensive support for businesses
Faster & better performance levels
Offers cloud management & security
Inculcates unique storage engine architecture
Ensures Data Protection
Accompanies many database-driven web applications
Why is MySQL used?
MySQL is a database software which is used for may reasons. It may be due to its –
Security offerings
Cloud service facilities
Robust transactional support
Availability to store data
Data warehouse
GUI tools
Talking about Security in specific, MySQL offers some features like- MySQL Enterprise Firewall, MySQL Enterprise Encryption, MySQL Enterprise Audit, MySQL Online Backup etc.
Coming to Cloud Service, Oracle has introduced MySQL ‘as a service’ which offers user the ability to deploy MySQL server on the cloud to avoid installing the database on local servers.
High availability- This ensures the ability of the application to cope with the situation of failure. It offers 24/7 hours availability along with solutions to the requirements.
GUI tools- in order to access data, GUI tools are more in use and are offered under MySQL for obtaining technical data by the users easily. These are more convenient & time-saving tools like MySQL WorkBench, phpMyAdmin, HeidiSQL etc.