Understanding MySQL Internals

Preface

In the summer of 2003, somebody on the MySQL mailing list proposed a book about MySQL internals. As I read the email, I realized that I had the background to write such a book, but I had just finished writing my first book and was not looking forward to writing another. I tried to talk myself out of the responsibility, saying to myself nobody would ever publish a book so technical and specialized. There simply would not be enough of an audience for it.

Then I thought of Understanding the Linux Kernel and Linux Device Drivers by O’Reilly. That took away my excuse. I realized the door was open and I was standing in the doorway, but my inertia was keeping something good from happening. I thought about a passage in the Book of Mormon that says “a natural man is an enemy to God,” and the principle behind it. If you drift along, seeking only the pleasure of the moment and staying safely within your natural comfort zone, you do not accomplish much. Good things happen when you push yourself outside of your comfort zone, doing what is difficult but what you know deep inside is the right thing to do. I wrote an email with a proposal to O’Reilly.

Interestingly enough, my editor happened to be Andy Oram, who also participated in the publication of Understanding the Linux Kernel and Linux Device Drivers. He and I worked together on this book, and I appreciate his help very much. I felt that his strengths very well compensated for my weaknesses.

The book presented a number of challenges. ...