It’s true — http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/technology/companies/21sun.html?_r=1&hp.
Ronald Bradford asked, “What does this mean for MySQL?”
Lots of people are going to be proclaiming that it is the death of MySQL, as they did when Oracle bought InnoDB.
But it is not. MySQL and Oracle may both be databases, but they are not competitors. To say they are competitors is like saying that an upscale bar and the corner convenience store are competitors because you can get soft drinks, coffee and tea at both. There are many applications for which Oracle is the appropriate solution, and there’s no reason to even try to see if MySQL can do the same job. Similarly there are many applications for which MySQL is the clearly appropriate solution and there’s no need to even consider Oracle.
So, in the end, what this acquisition means to me is that Sun’s going to get a little more of a boost — stock prices had been sinking for a while now, and Oracle will get some good hardware, which seems to be their latest foray.
EDIT (4/20/2009 10:09 pm PDT) — Just adding another reason I believe Oracle won’t kill MySQL — they make a ton of $$ off InnoDB hot backup…
It’s true — http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/technology/companies/21sun.html?_r=1&hp.
Ronald Bradford asked, “What does this mean for MySQL?”
Lots of people are going to be proclaiming that it is the death of MySQL, as they did when Oracle bought InnoDB.
But it is not. MySQL and Oracle may both be databases, but they are not competitors. To say they are competitors is like saying that an upscale bar and the corner convenience store are competitors because you can get soft drinks, coffee and tea at both. There are many applications for which Oracle is the appropriate solution, and there’s no reason to even try to see if MySQL can do the same job. Similarly there are many applications for which MySQL is the clearly appropriate solution and there’s no need to even consider Oracle.
So, in the end, what this acquisition means to me is that Sun’s going to get a little more of a boost — stock prices had been sinking for a while now, and Oracle will get some good hardware, which seems to be their latest foray.
EDIT (4/20/2009 10:09 pm PDT) — Just adding another reason I believe Oracle won’t kill MySQL — they make a ton of $$ off InnoDB hot backup…