History of MySQL

The Origins of SQL

• SQL stands for Structured Query Language.
• It was first developed in the early 1970s at IBM by Donald D. Chamberlin and Raymond F. Boyce.
• Originally called SEQUEL (Structured English Query Language), later shortened to SQL due to trademark issues.
• SQL was created to manage and query data stored in relational databases — a new way of organizing data in tables with relationships.

Birth of Relational Databases

• The idea of a relational database was proposed in 1970 by Edgar F. Codd in his paper “A Relational Model of Data for Large Shared Data Banks”.
• Relational databases organize data in rows and columns, making it easy to search, update, and maintain.

The Creation of MySQL

• MySQL was created in 1995 by Michael “Monty” Widenius, David Axmark, and Allan Larsson.

• It was developed by a Swedish company called MySQL AB.

• The name “MySQL”:

  • “My” comes from Monty Widenius’ daughter’s name.
  • “SQL” stands for Structured Query Language.

• MySQL was designed to be:

  • Fast
  • Reliable
  • Open-source
  • Easy to use, even for small websites and applications.

MySQL in the Real World

• In 2008, Sun Microsystems acquired MySQL AB.
• In 2010, Oracle Corporation acquired Sun Microsystems, making Oracle the owner of MySQL.
• Despite this, MySQL remains open-source and is still one of the most popular databases today.

🌐 MySQL’s Popularity Today

• Used by top companies: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Airbnb, Uber, and more.
• It is part of the LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Python), one of the most common web development stacks.
• Supported by all major cloud providers — AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure.

Key Reasons for MySQL’s Success

Open-source license — free to use Cross-platform — runs on Windows, macOS, Linux Community support — large, active developer community Performance — fast and scalable Ease of use — beginner-friendly for students and developers