New topic: A Chat with MySQL Staff
<http://forums.realsoftware.com/viewtopic.php?t=38065> Page 1 of 1 [ 1 post ] Previous topic | Next topic Author Message Jason_Adams Post subject: A Chat with MySQL StaffPosted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 10:55 am Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2006 4:10 pm Posts: 701 I recently received a call from a chap at MySQL (or whoever owns it), and had a rather interesting conversation. I had corresponded with them via email, and was annoyed by the generic non-answers I was receiving for my questionâhow free is MySQL, really? The conversation was fairly revealing, and actually contradictory to what some of us were thinking on the forum, so I figured I'd post what I learned from the people themselves. Issue: MySQL Community Server is a decent product, and while it's arguable as to it's comparison to PostgreSQL, it's certainly a decent solution. However, the lines of use are rather grey and blurry; while it's obviously free for John Smith making a little Linux server for his own geeky amusement, is it really "free" to be used for commercial use? (Commercial Use not meaning an in office server, but deploying it for client work.) Consensus says, "No, that's where they get you; they're not open source and require a major licence fee for commercial purposes." MySQL Response: Actually MySQL Community Server is open source, and free for such commercial use. The paid packages are (to use the example he gave) for servers like Ticket Master. If something goes wrong, they don't want anything lost, the server to be totally down, etc. Basically, the paid packages are entirely for the purpose of extra support, and does not constitute further freedom of deployment. It's almost identical to what EnterpriseDB (PostgreSQL) offers. There is some legality involved once a paid licence is purchased, as to who owns it, but the server itself is free to be deployed and even altered (vis a vis open source). I appreciated the clarity, but informed him that they're likely losing considerable business due to miscommunication. "Ticket Master's aren't being created everyday," I said, to which he agreed and laughed, "But considerable amount of work somewhere between massive jobs and hobbyist curiosity." There, I went on, is the confused crowd of developers debating what the purpose of the licences are for, and ultimately going to PostgreSQL, who communicates it better. Ultimately he said he greatly appreciated the call and would immediately pass it along to make sure something was done about it, especially on the website. I felt helpful and better informed. _________________ Windows 7 Ultimate RS Pro 2010r2.1 "Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried." - G.K. Chesterton Top Display posts from previous: All posts1 day7 days2 weeks1 month3 months6 months1 year Sort by AuthorPost timeSubject AscendingDescending Page 1 of 1 [ 1 post ]
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