MySQL is a popular open-source database management system. It was created in 1995 by Swedish software engineer Michael Widenius, who is also known as Monty. MySQL has been used by various businesses and organizations, including Facebook, Google, and Twitter. It is an essential tool for managing large amounts of data.
Over the years, MySQL has had a complex ownership history. In 2008, Sun Microsystems acquired MySQL AB, the company that owned MySQL. However, Sun Microsystems was later acquired by Oracle Corporation in 2010. This acquisition raised questions about the future of MySQL and its ownership.
The acquisition of Sun Microsystems by Oracle Corporation was a cause for concern among some MySQL users and developers. Many feared that Oracle would neglect MySQL or even discontinue its development. This fear was fueled by Oracle's reputation for aggressively protecting its intellectual property.
To address these concerns, Oracle made a commitment to continue developing MySQL and to maintain its open-source nature. Oracle also pledged to continue the collaborative development of MySQL with the MySQL community. However, some members of the MySQL community remained skeptical of Oracle's intentions.
In response to these concerns, some members of the MySQL community created a fork of the MySQL codebase. This fork was called MariaDB, named after Michael Widenius's daughter. MariaDB is a community-driven fork of MySQL that aims to be an alternative to MySQL. It is designed to be compatible with MySQL and to offer additional features and performance improvements.
MariaDB has gained popularity among some MySQL users and developers who are concerned about Oracle's ownership of MySQL. MariaDB is now used by various businesses and organizations, including Wikipedia, Red Hat, and Google.
Despite the popularity of MariaDB, MySQL remains a widely used database management system. Oracle continues to develop and maintain MySQL, and it has released several new versions of MySQL since the acquisition of Sun Microsystems.
In addition to Oracle and the MySQL community, various companies offer commercial versions of MySQL. These companies include Percona, MariaDB Corporation, and Alibaba Cloud. These companies offer their own versions of MySQL with additional features and support. They compete with each other and with Oracle for the MySQL market.
MySQL has had a complex ownership history. It was created by Michael Widenius and was later acquired by Sun Microsystems. Sun Microsystems was then acquired by Oracle Corporation, which raised concerns about the future of MySQL. Oracle pledged to continue developing MySQL and to maintain its open-source nature, but some members of the MySQL community remained skeptical. This skepticism led to the creation of MariaDB, a community-driven fork of MySQL. MariaDB has gained popularity among some MySQL users and developers who are concerned about Oracle's ownership of MySQL. Despite the popularity of MariaDB, MySQL remains a widely used database management system, and Oracle continues to develop and maintain it. Various companies, including Percona, MariaDB Corporation, and Alibaba Cloud, offer commercial versions of MySQL. These companies compete with each other and with Oracle for the MySQL market.