Is it really free? How does it stack up against Oracle, SQL Server and Teradata?
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Is it really free? How does it stack up against Oracle, SQL Server and Teradata?
It is not re-distributable for free - from what I understand it's free for you to use to host your own website with database backend for free. There is licencing info on the mysql website - I've read it before but don't recall the exact details.
MS SQL Express edition is re-distributable for free. If you won't expect more then 8 or so concurrent users it's the same database engine (more or less) than paid-for versions of MS SQL server - making it an excellent product - and extremely scaleable.
Keep in mind that MS did not develop MS SQL server - it was purchased from SYBASE quite some time ago. It's a true commercial enterprise database product.
ORACLE is also on the same level as MS SQL Server/Sybase - I've only got mainframe ORACLE experience, so I cannot speak of how it works in the PC arena.
Never heard of Teradata...
MySQL is open source. There are two distinct licencing models, the free model, and commercial. The major difference is the commercial model includes paid support.
Licencing models
MySql is a good alternative to someone who doesn't have the money to spend on Oracle or SQL Server. VBForums, for example, uses MySql and we get a lot of traffic here.
I've only ever heard of Teradata once, that it is used by KMart/Walmart/someMart.