I don't think it is any secret that I am a huge fan of Oracle.  I took the Oracle SQL and PL/SQL classes and have worked on Oracle databases for most of my career.  Only occasionally have I wandered into the waters of MS SQL Server and never into DB2 land.

Recently I started playing around with MySQL, an open source database that you can download for free from Sun Microsystems.  MySQL is used mostly in web application development and is generally included with any hosting package you purchase.  It's pretty much the default database of the web.  Sun acquired MySQL last year.

On April 20, 2009, when Oracle announced that it was buying Sun Microsystems, there were many mixed emotions from the IT world.  First of all, Sun is the maker of SPARC hardware and the Solaris operating system.  These two products have a huge install base.  One question is, how will the Oracle takeover effect the current customers of Sun?

Since the announcement, Sun's business has been declining in the uncertainty of that question.  However, Thursday's European edition of the Wall Street Journal has a response from Oracle on the front page.  Basically Oracle is committing to continue development and support of SPARC and Solaris.  It also includes a little smack talk from Larry Ellison directed to IBM.

However, one of the other questions about the acquisition is the fate of MySQL.  As a matter of fact, the European Commission has announced that they intend to investigate Oracle's plan to acquire Sun to determine the future of MySQL.  Up until now, Oracle has been quiet regarding the future fate of MySQL.

Ed Boyajian of EnterpriseDB says,

"They've been particularly silent about MySQL and I think that's also feeding the concern"

The EC is looking into what will happen when "the world's leading proprietary database company proposes to take over the world's leading open source database company," EC Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in a statement.

The founder and creator of MySQL has even launched Open Database Alliance in an effort to keep a community-developed implementation of MySQL open.  And there are some third-party companies that are looking to use that open version of MySQL and already have license agreements with Sun.

The hundreds or thousands of web applications that were build on MySQL may also be impacted.  EnterpriseDB has developed a MySQL to PostgreSQL migration wizard and say that thousands of customers have already downloaded it.

Until Oracle defines its intentions regarding the MySQL open source database, there will be speculation and worry in the IT community.  My hope is that they leave well enough alone and continue supporting and providing the database.  However, there are some anti-Oracle sentiments out there, and we could very well see a mass migration from MySQL to another open source platform such as PostgreSQL.  We'll just have to wait and see what Larry says.

Comments (3)

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written by Tom Hoffman, September 11, 2009

There have been a bunch of stories published since 9/10 about an ad that Oracle took out in the Wall St. Journal where Larry Ellison defends its plans for Sun's hardware business. Some people have questioned why there's no mention of MySQL in the ad, but clearly it's Oracle's intention to stem the bleeding that's occurred to Sun's hardware business.

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written by Mojo Jojo, September 11, 2009

I think it would be a bit naive to expect Oracle to market MySQL along with their flagship product, Oracle database. I have taken Oracle DBA OCP classes, and receive a "free" shirt for doing so. On the back of the shirt is the tag line, "Oracle software powers the Internet". So, what do you THINK is gonna happen? Remember when Oracle bought RDB from DEC? RDB was a rock solid database at the time. Ever hear of it? Exactly. My inside sources told me MySQL is a dead duck. Lack of vision from Larry, but, what's new.

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written by Fred Kauber, September 11, 2009

I don't think that MySQL is dead quite yet. Let's not forget that it hasn't been all roses for MySQL under Sun either, and it has managed to maintain its relevance quite nicely. Current users of MySQL likely have nothing immediate to worry about; a few years down the road may be a different story but Oracle could realize the opportunity they have with the current install base to upsell them with an easy transition to Oracle. MySQL is not the only open source asset Oracle has gotten as part of this deal; Java is huge too. It would be extremely foolish for Oracle to squander these open-source assets, and many of Oracle's same corporate customers rely on these open source technologies.

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