11 April 2003 Open source database software vendor MySQL is planning an assault on the enterprise software market with the release of version 5.0 of its popular database product.
This will include foreign key support, an automated alerting system to tell database administrators when a problem arises and the inclusion of stored procedures, the ability to pre-build and store common database queries.
That builds on such features as transaction support and roll back, so that if a transaction has to be abandoned before it is completed the database is returned to its original state, which were introduced in the current version 4.1.
The product details were unveiled at the MySQL’s first user conference in San Jose, California, in which David Axmark and Michael Widenius — known as Monty — talked about the development of the MySQL database and their plans for the future.
MySQL 5.0 is already available as a “pre-alpha” download.
However, the company is holding back from providing XML support until it becomes clear that there is a demand for it. “If XML in the database becomes mainstream, we will do it. My personal view is that the relational model is about as complicated as it can get before it gets too complicated,” CEO Marten Mickos told InfoWorld in an interview earlier this week.
MySQL’s model involves making available its core product for free download, while charging for various levels of support. In addition, it also sells MySQL to software vendors, such as Hyperion, that need an embedded a database within their products.
MySQL’s slim line business — it employs just 65 staff and relies heavily for technical development on the skills of Axmark and Widenius, allied with help from the open source community — means that it can keep support and licence prices competitive, compared to the database software giants.
Meta Group analyst Charlie Garry identifies MySQL as “the wildcard in the $12 billion database market”. MySQL claims that some 29,000 copies of its software are downloaded everyday, with more than 4 million installations worldwide.
