MySQL and mSQL

Chapter 7. Other Mid-Range Database Engines

When mSQL first appeared on the scene, it was the only mid-range database engine supporting SQL. It did not hold that distinction very long. Of course, you already know about one other such database: MySQL. In the years since mSQL’s introduction, however, a handful of mid-range database engines have been released. In this book, we have focused on MySQL and mSQL due to their overwhelming similarities and their unequalled popularity. It would, however, be an injustice to fail to mention the other databases out there.

People use databases for so many things that it is hard to capture all of the tools for all possible uses in one package. The major database vendors attempt that goal. They pay for it in terms of performance and you pay for it in terms of price. The low-end database engines, on the other hand, are so very specialized as to be of little use to the small business or nonprofit organization or anyone else with unusual needs. The mid-range database engines fill an important void between the two extremes.

At this point, we have only looked at two very similar views of meeting mid-range database requirements. These approaches are definitely not the only ones. There is no law, for example, that says just because you are not a big company that you do not need transaction support. Some users in the mid-range may also need triggers, subselects, stored procedures, object-oriented support, or any of a host of potential features—they just ...