The world's most popular open source database system. Available free from www.mysql.com and distributed under the GNU GPL license, MySQL powers more websites and software applications than any other open source database system.

Commonly used in combination with wordPHP for websites.
Our website uses PHP and MySQL for the backend.
by jleq July 16, 2003
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A great choice of database for a very simple and small application, such as a blog or forum. A very bad database for any enterprise application, or even for educational purposes, since it is highly unstandard and will teach you bad habits (unstandard casting, implicit nonsensical casting such as strings to numbers, weak subqueries, too simple "explain" output, no schemas, case sensitivity problems, annoying but manageable unicode support, no timezone support, etc.). Instead, choose PostgreSQL for professional or other large tasks.

MySQL is the fastest free open source database when you are NOT using transactions (using myisam engine) (which is why it is so great for blogs). But when you are using transactions (using innodb engine) (which any enterprise application must always use) it is VERY slow.

A properly optimized query written by a master or that you spent days writing might be fastest in Oracle, but in all other cases, PostgreSQL beats both Oracle and MySQL (innodb).
"My blog server goes so fast since I started using MySQL's myisam engine."

"MySQL's lack of time zone support is such a pain in the ass."

"MySQL is still running crash recovery, since 2 weeks ago (due to a known bug.... uh 'feature request' according to their developers, where it uses a primitive and ultra slow bubble sort to sort the transactions) . I wonder if my business will ever be up and running again."
by peetaur March 1, 2010
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Software you don't want to run on Windows because it's tough to get off later.
"Damn, I got MySQL stuck on my Windows computer"

Always use Linux for servers and databases...
by somebody, someone April 6, 2008
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One of the most powerful and popular open-source database software there is. Stands for My Sequel
by LRS May 17, 2004
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The name of the spouse who replaces you as step-parent to your kids.
My kids are spending the weekend with my ex-wife and MySQL
by Mydaho June 25, 2021
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The spouse who marries your ex-husband or ex-wife after you divorce. SQL is pronounced like sequel.
My kids are spending the weekend with my ex-wife and MySQL.
by Mydaho June 25, 2021
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