Chapter 1. Introduction
MySQL is an open source, multithreaded, relational database management system created by Michael “Monty” Widenius in 1995. In 2000, MySQL was released under a dual-license model that permitted the public to use it for free under the GNU General Public License (GPL). All of this, in addition to its many features and stability, caused its popularity to soar.
It has been estimated that there are more than six million installations of MySQL worldwide, and reports of over 50,000 downloads a day of MySQL installation software. The success of MySQL as a leading database is due not only to its price—after all, other cost-free and open source databases are available—but also its reliability, performance, and features. MariaDB is rapidly becoming the replacement to MySQL, and is seen by many as the heir apparent to the spirit of the MySQL community.
If you’re embarking on a career in computer programming, web development, or computer technology more generally, learning MySQL and MariaDB will prove useful. Many businesses develop and maintain custom software with MySQL. Additionally, many of the most popular websites and software use MySQL for their database—or they use another SQL database system that you can learn once you understand MySQL. It’s highly likely that you will be required to know or will benefit from knowing MySQL during the course of working as a database or website developer. Therefore, learning MySQL and MariaDB is a good foundation for your career in ...
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