Re: Save MySQL? HA

> -----Original Message-----
> From: pgsql-general-owner(at)postgresql(dot)org [mailto:pgsql-general-
> owner(at)postgresql(dot)org] On Behalf Of Peter Geoghegan
> Sent: Thursday, December 31, 2009 8:23 PM
> To: Andrew Lardinois
> Cc: pgsql-general(at)postgresql(dot)org
> Subject: Re: [GENERAL] Save MySQL? HA
>
> Andrew,
>
> I don't think it's becoming of the Postgres community to gloat about
> this. Your contention that MySQL will "get flushed down the drain"
> sounds almost as misguided as Monty's contention that Oracle will
> divest in, and ultimately somehow "kill" MySQL as a means of cornering
> the RDBMS market.
>
> The reason that MySQL can boast having so many installs is because it
> is used in shared hosting shops around the world. I really strongly
> doubt that Oracle are entertaining the idea of moving those sorts of
> MySQL users (i.e. the majority) over to Oracle database - they want to
> find a way to extract money from them, if that's possible. They
> certainly won't have a monopoly on supporting MySQL that they can use
> as leverage. Even if Oracle *could* somehow kill MySQL, I think it's
> extremely unlikely that they'd be the beneficiary, and they know it. I
> say this as someone who is largely indifferent to what happens to
> MySQL, beyond the ramifications for PostgreSQL.

I suspect that Oracle could be interested in collection of revenue from
MySQL users who are using it commercially without a license in violation
of the current license agreement for MySQL. (Commercial use of MySQL
without paying a license fee requires that projects using the database
are also GPL, IIRC).

Just a wild guess, of course.