Re: is Mysql server just a component of Mysql RDBMS?

[Rick James]

(my opinion...)

Those terms are handled rather loosely.

The MySQL "server" is a machine -- or just the process running on that machine -- that provides access to the data stored in the database(s) which are stored (usually) on that machine.

RDBMS is a concept of how to organize data in a "Relational" way. Or it could apply to the server and the data.

After all, there are CPUs, disks, etc at a lower level. We don't get into that much detail. Nor do we include "integrated circuits" that are the building blocks of cpus and RAM.

Think of things as "black boxes". An RDBMS is a black box that provides a certain service. MySQL (and others) is what is immediately under the covers of an RDBMS. The details of the hardware are irrelevant if you treat this as a black box.

The "clients" may coexist on the same machine as the "server", or they could be on separate machines, potentially on the other side of the globe. In either case, there is a "client-server" relationship between these two software entities. Again, the "client" could refer to the software and/or the machine.

Again, the _concept_ of "client-server" can be black-boxed away from how it is implemented.

> a complete management software

That probably should include the "application" software.

Back to the "client". This might refer to the MySQL connector between the application and the server, or it may also include the application.

Think of MySQL (or any other RDBMS) as a _generic_ tool on which to build your application. Since your application may stray far from "relational databases", it is probably wrong to say your app _is_ a RDBMS; rather it may be better to say that your app _uses_ (or _includes_ as a necessary component) a RDBMS.