niflheim

Some friends, former customers/partners of mine from “previous lives”, family members and community folks have asked me what will happen to MySQL-the-product after MySQL-the-company is fully acquired by and integrated into Sun Microsystems.

Well, I don’t know! Those decisions are not mine to make.

I could speculate. (Frankly, I would probably be spot on, too.) But I’d rather not, and that’s not why I’ve resurrected this blog.

Many of the questions amounted to, “Should I stop using MySQL?” or, worse, “Will I have to stop using MySQL?” I decided to answer those here.

The questions were mostly from people who do not know much about Sun and who are afraid that the acquisition will result in mysqld becoming solely closed-source, proprietary, licensed software; afraid that they would have to pay if they do not today, or have to pay more if they do.

I cannot commit Sun any more than I can commit MySQL, but let’s face it: Sun really is the biggest “free software” and “open source” company on the planet. They have released nearly all of their products under the GPL, and I suspect the only holdouts are because of 3rd party patent and licensing complications.

Should you stop using MySQL? Well, that’s up to you, but I think it’s safe to say that such a decision has nothing to do with Sun. In fact, you probably should feel more confident using MySQL because of the acquisition. (If Monty likes it, so should you.)

Will Sun force you to stop using MySQL? I can’t speak for them, but why would they? They presumably want to extend MySQL’s ubiquity. If you aren’t paying for MySQL services or licenses today, they’re far more likely to try creating value that you will want to pay for than resorting to outmoded strong-arm tactics. It’s just not “in character” for where they are, today.

They explain themselves better than I can, so let me just wrap up with one small bit of public speculation: for the many millions of people and companies using MySQL today, I think the unlikely, worst thing that could happen is that nothing directly affecting you will change at all.

That’s more like a Christmas present than a worst-case scenario.

Sunta Claus? Heh. Merry Christmas.