[Koha] Difference Between MariaDB and MySQL

[Charles Kelley]

Hello, all!

    In our latest exchange, on 14 Dec. 2019, at 12:49 PM, Joel Coehoom
wrote:

> MariaDB was created when Oracle bought out Sun Microsystems in January
> 2010. Sun had owned the MySql DB project, but since the project was open
> source that's not the same as full ownership of the code itself. Oracle
> doesn't exactly have the best reputation as a good steward for open source
> projects, so when the acquisition was announced several prominent MySql
> contributors started their own project based on the then-current MySql
> code. The express purpose of the project is to ensure a MySql-compatible
> database remains available should Oracle start to behave poorly.



 So, then, the whole point of the MariaDB project is that it should be
> compatible with MySQL.


[etc., etc., etc.]

    Thanks for the history lesson, Joel.

    I knew about Oracle's acquisition of MySQL and the potential upheaval
it might have wrought. We were quite worried at the Uniformed Services
University of the Health Sciences Learning Resource Center (LRC) -- it took
me three months to learn to say that in one breath -- because a number of
researchers had MySQL databases. And who would come to the LRC for a
replacement? The LRC's Applied Medical Informatics (a.k.a. library IT). We
were quite relieved when our fears didn't come to pass.

    Thanks for the history detail; I had no idea.

    I have seen Koha's use of MySQL in the documentation, and I'm used to
SQLite through my use of Xojo (formerly REALbasic). But I haven't heard of
MariaDB, and I just had to ask before committing my library to something
that might later break. (If you don't know what something is, it's better
to ask before plunging yourself into an abyss.)

    Thanks for the detailed explanation and history lesson.

-- 
    -- Charles.

    Charles Kelley, MLS
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