MySQL and mSQL

Chapter 5. mSQL

Database concepts and design are all extremely important, but you probably want to dive in and work with mSQL or MySQL. Chances are that you have chosen one database engine or the other to serve your needs. Perhaps, however, you are looking to this book to help you with that decision. In this chapter, we start diving into the details with mSQL. If you are already a committed MySQL user, you can skip over this chapter. If, on the other hand, you are a committed mSQL user or you want to learn about both database engines, this chapter is the place to start.

mSQL is the relational database management system (RDBMS) that initiated the era of cheap SQL database engines for small-to-medium sized database needs. Its small footprint, impressive speed, and short learning curve turned it into an excellent database choice for the growing population of start-up web developers who do not want to spend the time to become expert database programmers. The author of the mSQL database engine intentionally included all of these advantages when he set out to create a database product that could fill a gaping hole in database products.

Design

David Hughes had three specific design goals in mind for mSQL:

• mSQL had to be fast.

• mSQL had to have a small footprint.

• mSQL had to be able to handle multiple simultaneous connections.

Speed was the primary motivation behind mSQL. Because most commercial SQL servers try to implement the full SQL2 specification in addition to their own proprietary extensions, ...