Dear MySQL User,
MySQL AB and the Free / Open Source database market today received some unexpected recognition by Oracle, through their acquisition of Innobase Oy.
So what does this have to do with MySQL?
Well, Innobase is the provider of the popular InnoDB Storage Engine in MySQL. One of the things our users appreciate about MySQL is its unique pluggable storage engine architecture. You have the flexibility to choose from number of storage engines including MyISAM, Memory, Merge, Cluster and InnoDB. And with MySQL 5.0, we added the new Archive and Federated storage engines.
Just like the rest of MySQL Server and its Storage Engines, InnoDB is released under the GPL. With this license, our users have complete freedom to use, develop, modify the code base as they wish. That is why MySQL has chose the GPL: to protect the freedom that users value in free / open source software.
In their press release on
http://www.oracle.com/corporate/press/2005_oct/inno.html
Oracle states:
"InnoDB is not a standalone database product: it is distributed as a part of the MySQL database. InnoDB's contractual relationship with MySQL comes up for renewal next year. Oracle fully expects to negotiate an extension of that relationship."
We have also issued a press release on
http://www.mysql.com/news-and-events/news/article_968.html where Mårten Mickos, CEO of MySQL, states:
"This announcement represents further validation of the open source movement. The beauty of open source software and the GPL license is freedom. As with all MySQL code, InnoDB is provided under the GPL license, meaning that users have complete freedom to use, develop, and modify the code base. We are pleased to see even broader industry acceptance of open source database technology. This also means that database developers now have even greater flexibility to use MySQL and
Oracle in the same environment."
For you as a MySQL user, I want to stress a couple of further points of the "don't worry" type:
* we remain committed to support our existing clients and users, using InnoDB and other storage engines
* we will continue to provide development and bug-fix resources for InnoDB users
* we continue to sell to our prospects and woo new users, using InnoDB and other storage engines
* there will be no impact on MySQL 5.0, scheduled for GA in Q4, 2005
* we will continue to include InnoDB in future releases of MySQL
* Innobase Oy is a separate company -- and is not a part of MySQL AB; Oracle has no ownership of MySQL AB
* we will work with Oracle as a normal business partner
Go MySQL!
Kaj Arnö
VP Community Relations
MySQL AB
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/21/2005 09:07AM by Edwin DeSouza.