MySQL

MySQL is a relational database management system (RDBMS) that runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases. MySQL is officially pronounced /ma???skju???l/ (“My S-Q-L”), but is often also pronounced /ma??si?kw?l/ (“My Sequel”). It is named after developer Michael Widenius’ daughter, My. The SQL phrase stands for Structured Query Language.

The MySQL development project has made its source code available under the terms of the GNU General Public License, as well as under a variety of proprietary agreements. MySQL was owned and sponsored by a single for-profit firm, the Swedish company MySQL AB, now owned by Oracle Corporation.

Members of the MySQL community have created several forks (variations) such as Drizzle, OurDelta, Percona Server, and MariaDB. All of these forks were in progress before the Oracle acquisition; Drizzle was announced eight months before the Sun acquisition.

Free-software projects that require a full-featured database management system often use MySQL. Where the project may lead to something in commercial use, the license terms need careful study. Some free software project examples: WordPress, phpBB, Drupal and other software built on the LAMP software stack. MySQL is also used in many high-profile, large-scale World Wide Web products, including Wikipedia, Google and Facebook.