MariaDB: The Ultimate Savior from MySQL?

MariaDB is an open-source database management system (DBMS), created by the MySQL founder Michael “Monty” Widenius and original MySQL core team. Its purpose is to offer a better MySQL option that remains open-source to developers. In essence, it is a MySQL fork that has been gaining popularity in enterprise software, especially now that programmers are unsure of where Oracle is headed with MySQL; fearing Oracle will make it private.


History

After selling MySQL to SUN Microsystems, the founder, Michael Widenius, fearing for the application’s safety (and its remaining open-source), immediately started working on MariaDB. Today, this MySQL fork has a lot to offer developers around the world with features that surpass the traditional MySQL database application.

Faster and More Adept
Michael suggests that the new MariaDB is faster and offers more features than the conventional MySQL. Besides, the VP of system architecture for MariaDB concurs with other developers that Oracle is making it harder for developers to use MySQL as an open-sourced program and is slowly trying to convert it into a closed sourced program.

Stable Foundation and Support
The founders and technical team that created the original MySQL has worked on the MariaDB application and formed the MariaDB Foundation, an entity that promotes its software by improving database technology, implementing higher standards, reviewing and testing interoperability with other databases and building networks with other database programs such as noSQL and transactional. Basically the foundation’s work is to review, test and release the MariaDB product. They do this by offering infrastructure for the suite in the developer community.
Check out this video from Widenius and others discussing the MariaDB Foundation

Confidence
The new MariaDB SQL fork inspires confidence in the developer and programming community as it is the same dedicated core team that developed the original MySQL that is now working on the new database program.  Additionally, they have gone a step further, by establishing the foundation to protect its principle of offering program features that are essential to developers in an open-source free program.

Use
There are already many open-source software programs that support the MariaDB application including Jelastic Kajona, Drupal, phpMyAdmin, Mediawiki, WordPress, Plone, SaltOs and Zend Framework. Wikipedia recently announced they’re moving from MySQL to MariaDB

Bottom Line
MariaDB is currently being used by more developers, because of the experience used in both the development and management of the application. After all, no one is better able to develop a MySQL fork application, than the original MySQL founder and core-team. Additionaly, MariaDB has better development efficiency due to the teams’ level of experience. It offers faster access to data and is more efficient than the commonly used MySQL. Additionally, the open-sourced MariaDB can offer an alternative to all web hosting companies… should MySQL go closed-source.

P.S. you might find this interesting… Monty discussing his latest trick at StartupSauna late last year.