MySQL is a type of relational database that stores and manages the data based on Structured Query Language (SQL) queries. Thus, making it a structured database, i.e., the data stored in this relational databases is in the form of tables.

It is a fast, easy-to-use RDBMS being used for many small and big businesses, it is developed, marketed and supported by a Swedish Company called MySQL AB.

Features of MySQL

One of the major reasons MySQL is considered one of the most popular relational databases is because of its abundant features. Let us look at them one by one −

Open-Source

MySQL is open-source, which means this software can be downloaded, used and modified by anyone. It is free-to-use and easy-to-understand. The source code of MySQL can be studied, and changed based on the requirements. It uses GPL, i.e. GNU General Public license which defines rules and regulations regarding what can and can”t be done using the application.

Quick and Reliable

MySQL stores data efficiently in the memory ensuring that data is consistent, and not redundant. Hence, data access and manipulation using MySQL is quick. It is considered one of the fastest relational databases with higher productivity as well.

High Performance

MySQL provides comparatively higher performance without affecting its functionality. It also has a very little memory leakage making it memory efficient as well.

Scalable

Scalability refers to the ability of systems to work easily with small amounts of data, large amounts of data, clusters of machines, and so on. MySQL server was developed to work with large databases.

Data Types

It contains multiple data types such as unsigned integers, signed integers, float (FLOAT), double (DOUBLE), character (CHAR), variable character (VARCHAR), text, blob, date, time, datetime, timestamp, year, and so on.

Character Sets

It supports different character sets, and this includes latin1 (cp1252 character encoding), German, Ujis, other Unicode character sets and so on.

Secure

It provides a secure interface since it has a password system which is flexible, and ensures that it is verified based on the host before accessing the database. The password is encrypted while connecting to the server.

Support for large databases

It comes with support for large databases, which could contain about 40 to 50 million records, 150,000 to 200,000 tables and up to 5,000,000,000 rows.

Platform Independent

MySQL can be run on various operating systems including Windows, Linux, macOS etc. in several programming languages like C, C++, Java, Python, Perl, PHP etc.

Client and Utility Programs

MySQL server also comes with many client and utility programs. This includes Command line programs such as ”mysqladmin” and graphical programs such as ”MySQL Workbench”. MySQL client programs are written in a variety of languages. Client library (code encapsulated in a module) can be written in C or C++ and would be available for clients that have C bindings.