MariaDB facts for kids
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| Developer(s) | MariaDB plc, MariaDB Foundation |
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| Initial release | 29 October 2009 |
| Stable release |
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| Preview release | Lua error in Module:Wd at line 1575: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). (Lua error in Module:Wd at line 1571: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).) |
| Written in | C, C++, Perl, Bash |
| Operating system | Linux, Windows, macOS |
| Available in | English |
| Type | RDBMS |
| License | GPLv2, LGPLv2.1 (client libraries) |
MariaDB is a special computer program that helps organize and store lots of information. It's like a super smart digital filing cabinet for websites and apps. It's a "fork" of another popular program called MySQL. This means it started from MySQL's code but then went its own way.
MariaDB is free and open-source software. This means anyone can use it, change it, and share it without paying. It was created by some of the original people who made MySQL. They started MariaDB because they were concerned when Oracle Corporation bought MySQL in 2009.
MariaDB is made to work very well with MySQL. It has similar commands and ways of working. This makes it easy for many programs to switch from MySQL to MariaDB. It also has new ways to store data, called storage engines, like Aria and ColumnStore.
The main developer of MariaDB is Michael Widenius, also known as "Monty." He was one of the people who started MySQL. MariaDB is named after his younger daughter, Maria. (MySQL is named after his other daughter, My!)
MariaDB Server
What is MariaDB Server?
MariaDB Server is the main part of the MariaDB database system. It's the engine that stores and manages all the data. It's designed to be very reliable and fast.
The MariaDB Foundation, which helps guide the project, says that MariaDB Server will always be free and open-source. It uses a special license called GPLv2. This license makes sure that the software stays free for everyone to use and improve.
MariaDB Versions
MariaDB uses version numbers to show how much it has changed. For a while, MariaDB's version numbers were similar to MySQL's. For example, MariaDB 5.5 had all the features of MySQL 5.5.
Later, MariaDB added many new features that MySQL didn't have. So, the developers decided to change the main version number. This showed that MariaDB was growing and adding its own unique improvements.
Working with Other Software
MariaDB is built to be very compatible with MySQL. This means that many tools and programs that work with MySQL can also work with MariaDB. Because of this, many companies and projects have switched to MariaDB.
For example, Fedora and OpenBSD (types of computer operating systems) decided to use MariaDB instead of MySQL. They were worried that Oracle might make MySQL less open for everyone. While MariaDB tries to be compatible, some very new features in MySQL might not be in MariaDB yet.
Who Uses MariaDB?
Many big companies and organizations use MariaDB. These include ServiceNow, DBS Bank, Google, and Mozilla. Even the Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, started using MariaDB in 2013!
Many Linux and BSD operating systems also include MariaDB. Some even use it as their main database program. This includes popular ones like Arch Linux, Debian, Fedora, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
MariaDB Foundation
The MariaDB Foundation is a non-profit group that was started in 2012. Its job is to guide the development of MariaDB and make sure it stays free and open-source. The current CEO of the Foundation is Kaj Arnö, who started in February 2019.
Who Supports the Foundation?
Many important companies help support the MariaDB Foundation. These include Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud, Microsoft, MariaDB Corporation Ab, ServiceNow, IBM, DBS Bank, and Amazon.
Sometimes, companies even send their own engineers to work with the Foundation. For example, Google had one of its engineers work there in 2013.
History of the Foundation
In 2012, Michael Widenius and others announced they would create the MariaDB Foundation. They wanted it to be like the Eclipse Foundation, which helps guide other open-source projects.
In 2014, MariaDB Corporation Ab became a main sponsor. MariaDB Corporation Ab is the company that helps develop the MariaDB server. They also provide support for it. The MariaDB name is a registered trademark of MariaDB Corporation Ab, but the Foundation is allowed to use it.
The Foundation has had several CEOs over the years. Simon Phipps was CEO from 2013 to 2014. Otto Kekäläinen was CEO from 2015 to 2018. Arjen Lentz was CEO briefly in 2018, and then Kaj Arnö took over in 2019.
MariaDB Corporation Ab
MariaDB Corporation Ab is a company that helps build and support MariaDB. It was started in 2010 by Michael Widenius and others. Their goal was to create a global business around the open-source MariaDB project.
The company was formed by combining two other companies in 2013. In 2014, they changed their name to MariaDB Corporation Ab. This showed their important role in developing MariaDB Server and offering support for it. In 2022, MariaDB Corporation Ab announced plans to become a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange.
What MariaDB Corporation Ab Offers
MariaDB Corporation Ab helps develop the main MariaDB Server. They also create special tools called "connectors" that let different programming languages (like C, Java, and Python) talk to the MariaDB database.
They also offer the MariaDB Enterprise Platform. This platform includes advanced tools like MariaDB MaxScale, which helps manage database traffic. It also has MariaDB ColumnStore for analyzing large amounts of data, and MariaDB Xpand for handling many transactions. They used to offer these services in the cloud under the name SkySQL.
SkySQL
SkySQL was a cloud service offered by MariaDB Corporation. It allowed users to run MariaDB databases online without having to set up their own servers. It launched in March 2020 and was available on Google Cloud Platform.
SkySQL was designed to handle different types of data and tasks. It could manage both regular transactions and complex data analysis. This meant users could use one service for many different needs.
However, in October 2023, MariaDB Corporation stopped offering SkySQL as a product. In December 2023, SkySQL became its own separate company.
Who Invests in MariaDB Corporation Ab?
MariaDB Corporation Ab has received a lot of money from investors to help it grow. Companies like OpenOcean, Tesi, Intel, Alibaba, and the European Investment Bank have invested millions of dollars. These investments help the company develop new features and expand its services.
Images for kids
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A screenshot of the MariaDB monitor.
See also
- Comparison of database administration tools
- Comparison of MySQL database engines
- Comparison of relational database management systems
- Multi-master replication
