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5 Reasons Its Time to Ditch MySQL

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5 Reasons Its Time to Ditch MySQL

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July10,2013byRikkiEndsley 36Comments

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MySQLisstillthemostpopularopensourcedatabase,butithasbeenlosingfans
overtheyearsforgoodreason.Welookatfivepracticalmotivationstodumpthe
MySQLdatabase.
Backin2008,MySQLwasrapidlygrowinginpopularitywhenSunMicrosystems

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boughtMySQLABforapproximatelyabillionbucks.Thefollowingyear,Oracle
scoopedupSun,andMySQLwaspartofthedeal.MySQLusersanddevelopers
startedquestioningthefateoftheopensourcedatabase,andmanyofthembegan

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lookingforalternatives.

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Flashforwardto2013:Oracledidntkilloffitsformercompetitor,andMySQL

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remainsthemostpopularopensourcedatabase.Still,MySQLspopularityison
thedeclineasitlosesitsluster,viabledatabasealternativeshavestartedtoshine.
Letslookatfivegoodreasonsnottousetheformeropensourcedatabase
standard,MySQL.(Toseetheothersideoftheargument,readAndyPatrizios
articleonthe5reasonstostickwithMySQL.Thenmakeyourowndecision,and
shareitwithusinthecomments.)

1. MySQL is not as mature as other relational

database management systems.
MySQLdidnotstartoutasanRDBMS,butlaterchangeddirectiontoencompass
morefunctionality.Older,morematurerelationaldatabasemanagementsystems
arestillconsideredmorefeaturerichthanMySQL.Ifyouwantafeaturerich
RDBMS,youmightcheckoutPostgreSQLorclosedsourceoptions,suchas

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OracleorMicrosoftSQLServer.
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5 Reasons Its Time to Ditch MySQL

PostgreSQLcontributorSelenaDeckelmannsaysthatPostgresisseenastheright
choicefornewprojectsamongWebdeveloperswhoneedarelationaldatabase.
WiththeJSONdatatypeandPLV8,Postgresmaybecomethedefaultchoicefor
NoSQLaswell,shesays.

2. MySQL is open source but only sorta

Technically,MySQLisanopensourcedatabase,butinpractice,itnolongerfeels
likeit.UnderOraclesumbrella,MySQLnowhasproprietary,closedsource
modules.MySQLremainsaliveonpaperbutOraclesfootdraggingon
developmentandrefusaltoreleasetestcasesforbugsandsecuritypatchesfor
MySQLhasreinforceditscontroloverthecodeandsenthordesofopensource
developerstogreenerpastures,PaulaRooneyexplainsinherZDNetarticle,Isit
timeforOracletodonateMySQLtoApache?

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Itisntlikeyoudonthaveotheropen
sourcealternatives.MariaDB,a
MySQLfork,remainstrulyopen
source.SkySQL,aMariaDB

4SecretstoManagingYourTesting
WorkflowFebruary16,2016
WhyGithubisTakingOvertheWorld
February16,2016

developerthatmergedwithMonty
ProgramAb(MariaDBsparent
company)earlierthisyear,explains,
AllcodeinMariaDBisreleasedunder
GPL,LPGLorBSD.MariaDBdoesnothaveclosedsourcemoduleslikethoseyou
canfindinMySQLEnterpriseEdition.Infact,alltheclosedsourcefeaturesin
MySQL5.5EnterpriseEditionarefoundintheMariaDBopensourceversion.

3. MySQLs performance doesnt scale as well as its

competitors
TheMariaDBblogoffersdetailedbenchmarkresultsforrecentMySQLvs.
MariaDBreleases,and,althoughtheresultswereclose,MariaDBcameoutahead.
PostgreSQLcontributorSelenaDeckelmannsaysthatHerokuPostgresmakes
Postgresmoreattractiveforseveralreasons,includingscaling.Theyhave
arguablythelargesthostedenvironmentforPostgres,automaticallyhandlescaling
foryourapps,andaresupportingcooladdonsthatmakeiteasytotryoutfeatures
beforeyoufigureouttheDevOpssituationlocally,sheexplains,adding,Theyjust
announcedsupportforPLV8,whichallowsyoutorunJavaScriptinthedatabase
andtakebetteradvantageoftheJSONdatatypeavailablein9.2andhigher.

4. MySQL is Oracle-owned instead of community

driven
MySQLhasntchangeddirectiondramaticallysinceitwasacquiredbyOracle,but
Oraclestillownsit,whichmakessomedevelopersnervous.And,probablyworst
ofall,itsimpossibleforthecommunitytoworkwiththeMySQLdevelopersat
Oracle,MichaelMontyWidenius,founderofMySQLandMariaDB,says.

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WideniusnotesthatOracledoesnotacceptpatchesorprovideapublicroadmap.
ThereisnowaytodiscusswithMySQLdevelopershowtoimplementthingsor
howthecurrentcodeworks,hesays.Ifanopensource,communitydeveloped
databasematterstoyou,WideniusrecommendMariaDB(duh!)becauseitisbuilt
ontopofMySQLandoffersmorefeatures,speed,andstability,withfewersecurity
issues.

5. The list of big names jumping ship is growing fast

AtitsJune2013summitinBoston,RedHatannouncedthatitwasbreakingup
withMySQL.Instead,RedHatEnterpriseLinux(RHEL)willshipwithMariaDB.
FedoraalreadyannouncedthatitwouldmovefromMySQLtotheMariaDBfork
withFedora19.SlackwareLinuxannounceditsmovefromMySQLtoMariaDBin
March2013,andopenSUSEmadeasimilarannouncementinJanuary2013.
ItisntjusttheLinuxdistributions.InApril2013,theWikimediaFoundation
announcedthatWikipedia,theworldsseventhmostpopularwebsite,wouldbe
adoptingMariaDB.Intheannouncement,WikimediaFoundationSiteArchitect
AsherFeldmanexplainedthatMariaDBsoptimizerenhancementsandPerconas
XtraDBfeaturesetwerecompellingreasonsforthechange.Equallyimportant,as
supportersofthefreeculturemovement,theWikimediaFoundationstrongly
prefersfreesoftwareprojectsthatincludesapreferenceforprojectswithout
bifurcatedcodebasesbetweendifferentlylicensedfreeandenterpriseeditions,he
added.WewelcomeandsupporttheMariaDBFoundationasanotforprofit
stewardofthefreeandopenMySQLrelateddatabasecommunity.Astechnology
journalistStevenJ.VaughanNichols(andcontributorhereatSmartBear)notedat
theendof2012,nomatterhowyoufeelaboutOracleoropensourcevs.
proprietarysoftware,MariaDBsbetterperformanceatoneoftheworldsbusiest
WebsitesisgoingtodrawattentionfromanyonerunningseriousLinux,Apache,
MySQL,PHP/Python/Perl(LAMP)softwarestacks.
Sowhatdothesebigdata,techsavvycompaniesknowthatloyalMySQLusers
dont?MySQLisnolongertheonlybigfishinasmallpondofdatabasesolutions.
Instead,MySQLisupagainstitsownOraclefree,trulyopensourceoffspring,
MariaDB,theincreasinglypopularPostgreSQLRDBMS,andagrowingNoSQL
market.IfyouhaventdumpedMySQLyet,thereareplentyofreasonsto
reconsider.
Abouttheauthor
RikkiEndsleywritesforavarietyoftechpublications,isthecommunitymanager
forUSENIX,andisthemanagingeditoroftheassociationsbimonthlypublication,
login:.Inthepast,RikkiworkedastheeditorinchiefofUbuntuUsermagazine,
associatepublisherofLinuxProMagazine,andmanagingeditorofSysAdmin
magazine.FollowheronTwitterat@rikkiendsorvisitrikkiendsley.com.

See also:
5ReasonstoStickwithMySQL
PickingtheRightWebServerfortheRightJob
WhatYourQATeamCanLearnfromOpenSourceDevelopmentProjects

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Comments
Martyr2says:
July10,2013at5:01PM

WhydoesthisreekofMariaDBfanboydom?Itreallytaintsthearticleandmakesmefeel
thatitisprettybiasandprovidesnorealvalue.
Reply

Alexanderypemasays:
July11,2013at3:38AM

Well,forpeoplethatareusedto/areusingMySQLandwanttoswitchtosomethingwith
betterfutureperspectives,MariaDBISthemostobviouschoiceInfact,onmostdebian
distros,rightnowifyouinstallMariaDB,youcanstartitbydoingservicemysqlstart.
ItsthespiritualsuccessorofMySQL,MySQLitselfiskindofdyingaslowdeathunder
Oraclessupervision.EverybigFOSSnonofromclosedsourcemodulestopoor
changelogsandjustmessywaysofhandlingbugfixestheyvebeendoingfromwhatIve
heard.
Ofcourse,asidethattheresawholebunchofdatabaseprojectssproutinglately,that
openupallkindsofdifferentnewcoolwaysofsavingdatabasestuff,likeNoSQL
databases,andforsomepeopleitmightbebettertojustlookaroundabitfurther.Butif
youwantMySQLbutactuallyFOSSandalivethenMariaDBreallyseemsthewayto
go.CorrectmeifImwrong.
Reply

rikkiendsleysays:
July11,2013at12:28PM

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5 Reasons Its Time to Ditch MySQL

MySQLunderOraclehasbeenaconcernformembersoftheopensourcecommunity
fromthebeginning,andsofar,Oraclehasntdoneanythingtoquashthoseconcerns.
Reply

ElectricPrismsays:
July11,2013at4:50AM

Thatseal/manitylogoreallyhasmeconvincedthatMariaDBistopnotch.
/sarcasm
MynextstopwilljustbeaMySQLcompetitor,theonlyreasonIusedMySQLorgotinto
itwasbecauseitwasinstalledonliterallyeveryserver.
Reply

KenKinnisonsays:
July11,2013at9:37AM

TheMariaDBthreadwasprettyheavymyinitialresponsewasdidIjustreadanadfor
MariaDB?
Butthepointsdoseemsound.
Reply

rikkiendsleysays:
July11,2013at12:24PM

IthinkPostgreSQLisreallystandingoutasaMySQLalternative,too.
Reply

rikkiendsleysays:
July11,2013at12:20PM

ThatsthefirsttimeIvebeencalledaMariaDBfanboy.Theangleofthearticlewas
reasonsNOTtouseMySQL,whichmeansIwasansweringthequestion,Whywouldnt
IwanttouseMySQL?MariaDBwasnttheonlyMySQLalternativeIcovered.Andy
PatriziosarticleprovidesreasonsforstickingwithMySQL:
http://blog.smartbear.com/opensource/5reasonstostickwithmysql/(Withyourlogic,
AndysarticlereeksofMySQLfanboydom,Isuppose.)
Reply

memchipsays:
July11,2013at12:49PM

Greatatrollthatcantread!
Reply

MaxPecksays:
July11,2013at8:17AM

WhynotuseSQLServerExpress?Itsfreeandverycapable.
Reply

Discitsays:
July11,2013at9:10AM

Itsnotopensource,limitsyourdatabasesizeprettysmallandonlyrunsonwindows.Its
coolforsmallwindowsdevelopmentthoughIthink.
Reply

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5 Reasons Its Time to Ditch MySQL

jgmitzensays:
August3,2014at4:05PM

Lotsofreasons:1)ItonlyrunsonWindows,2)Itsclosedsource,3)Featuressuchas
partitioninganddatabasecompressionareonlyavailableintheenterpriseversionof
SQLServerwhichstartsatover$25KwhilethesefeaturesareinPostgreSQLforfree.
Reply

AmoDBsays:
July11,2013at9:34AM

ComingsoonMariaDBforsalemoneysucks!
Reply

ShaunGeorgesays:
July11,2013at10:20AM

butitdoeseverythingIexpectandneed,soIseenoreasontoditchit.
Reply

Jessesays:
July11,2013at11:23AM

IamquitehappywithPercona
Reply

itoctopussays:
July11,2013at11:58AM

ThisarticleseesthatOraclesacquisitionofMySQLisahugeproblem.Idontagree.
TheonlyproblemwithMySQL,frommyperspective,istheverycommontablecorruption
thathappenswhentheservergoesdownwhentheresawriteactivityonone(ormore)of
thetables.Thereshouldbeanintelligentmechanismtohandlethat.
Reply

rikkiendsleysays:
July11,2013at12:29PM

Ifusingopensourcesoftwareisapriorityforyou,thenMySQLunderOracle*is*ahuge
problem.
Reply

DanSuttonsays:
July11,2013at2:40PM

6.MySQLisafunctionlessblackholeof20yearoldchildishness.YouknowlikePHP!
Reply

Biztuxsays:
July12,2013at9:12PM

Whathaveyouwritten/contributedtoanysoftwarecommunitythatqualifiessuchbold
statementsDan?Whatdoyoupreferasalanguage?RubyonRails?.Net?
Alllanguageshavetheirflaws,RubyandRailshavefarmorelimitationsthanPHP,and
Javadevelopmenttypicallytakes35timeslongerthanPHPdevelopment..Netisfar
worseasitonlyrunsat100%capabilityonWindoze.

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UsedcorrectlyMySQL/MariaDBscalewellandareeasiertomaintainthanseveralof
theirpeersincludingthebloatedPostgreSQL(Cantmakeupitsmindifitisa
programmingenvironmentoranRDBMS).
Reply

DanSuttonsays:
July16,2013at7:27PM

Well,C#isabeautifullanguage:itswhatJavashouldvebeenitsashameitisnt
availableonanythingotherthanMicrosoftplatforms,sinceitrepresentstomethe
directioninwhichthesethingsshouldbegoing.Bycontrast,PHPisinconsistent,
badlydesigned,formlessandmessy.MySQLrepresentsthebareminimumonecan
getawaywithwhenpresentingadatabaseplatform:Idshuddertohavetouseitfor
anythingmorecomplicatedthanstoringplaintabledataanddoingsimplequerieson
it.Ohwell:yougetwhatyoupayfor,Isuppose.
Reply

rjanFurrysays:
October29,2013at9:00AM

Well,C#isabeautifullanguage:itswhatJavashouldvebeen
Itsnearlythesamething,exceptMSstoleJavaandmadeC#
Reply

DanSuttonsays:
October29,2013at11:51AM

SunstolePascal/C/Algol60/BCPL/..andmadeJava.Whatsyourpoint?
Reply

FabianBeckersays:
October27,2013at6:40AM

RubyonRailsisaframeworknotalanguage.Ifyouwanttocompareit,then
compareitwithCakePHP.
Reply

Johnsays:
January8,2014at8:43PM

Notrealy,checkMONOproject.Infact,sometimesMicrosoftislaggingwith.netwhen
itcomestonewfeatures..
Reply

Guest1283219says:
July12,2013at10:35AM

Interestingcomments:ImstillaloyalusersofMySQLaintbroke(doeswhatIneedasa
backendformyiPhoneapp),dontfixit.ButIamworriedaboutthefutureroadmap(or
seeminglackthereof)fromORCL.ThusIkeepreadingthesetypesofarticles(andthe
commentsthatareconstructive)tostayawareincaseIneedtomakeamove.
Reply

JustSayingsays:
July15,2013at10:08AM

IthinkyoudontdropMySQLjustbecausethereareotherdatabaseswithmorefeatures,
youshouldonlyconsiderthosedatabasesifyourapplicationrequiresthem

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Reply

DTsays:
July17,2013at11:00PM

ThegoodnewsisthatifyouswitchtoMariaDByoucanstillsayyouareonLAMP.
Reply

Seth@FBTsays:
August28,2013at12:24AM

MySQLiscertainlyoneofthemostpopularopensourcedatabase.However,iftheydonot
atleasttrytomatchtheircompetitorsIdontseeabrightfutureaheadforthem.
Reply

myrtie29says:
November21,2013at11:27PM

RecentlyIwasextremelylowonmoneyanddebtswereeatingmefromallsides!Thatwas
UNTILIdecidedtomakemoneyontheinternet!Iwenttosurveymoneymakerdotnet,and
startedfillinginsurveysforcash,andsurelyIvebeenfarmoreabletopaymybills!!Imso
glad,Ididthis!!jggo
Reply

automatedwebcontentsays:
January5,2016at8:53PM

ImovedtoanothercountryanawhimforsixmontshasaresultofIfeltI
wasboredwithinthestatesandneededsomeadventure.
Reply

Dawesisays:
February10,2016at6:07AM

mariadbandperconaareforksofmysqlbotharemuchfaster,butbothstillarelivingin
thepastintermsofrelationaldatabasesdontstartmeonindexesorstored
procedures
ijustavoidallforksofmysqlperiod.
Reply

February2016BlankCalendarsays:
February18,2016at2:25AM

Ifsomeoneneedstobeupdatedwithhottesttechnologiesafterthathemustbepayavisit
thiswebsiteandbeuptodateeveryday.
Reply

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