Introduction
In this technologically advanced era, we deal with databases almost everywhere. For example, your local electricity provider uses a database to manage related services like billing, customer complaints, new connection establishment, connection withdrawal, and so on.
We have a plethora of real-life examples that demonstrate how we are surrounded by the database almost all of the time.
Without any doubt, one can say that MySQL is an amazing database tool to work with. For all new webmasters, terminology like features of MySQL can be a little intimidating.
However, the objective of this article is to provide you with a detailed explanation of all the potential features of MySQL. You'll also be able to see the big picture, which will aid you in determining the importance of these terms for your learning.
MySQL Features
MySQL is a relational database management system (RDBMS). According to many ardent MySQL supporters, MySQL is faster, more reliable, and less expensive than any other Database system — or, to put it another way, better (including commercial systems such as Oracle and DB2).
The fact is that the number of MySQL users is growing all the time, and the vast majority of them are very happy with it. As a result, we can say that MySQL is sufficient for these users.
The following is a list of MySQL's most significant features. This section is intended for readers who are already familiar with relational databases:
Below are some key features of MySQL which discusses how MySQL has evolved to do more than just fast data queries.
- It was written in C and C++ and compiled for use on a variety of platforms.
- To create a multi-layer server design, it uses a modular design approach.
- It supports multi-threading, making it simple to scale up to multiple CPUs if they are available.
- A thread-based memory allocation system is used.
- To improve performance, it uses hash tables in memory.
- Client/server and embedded server environments are supported.
- Multiple data storage engines are supported.
- It uses a class library to implement all SQL functions.
- It supports all of the standard SQL data types.
- It has a security system that allows for both user-based and host-based authentication.
- Large databases with more than 5 billion rows of data are supported.
- It offers application programming interfaces (APIs) for a variety of popular programming languages including PHP.
Some other features are:
Open-Source
MySQL is open-source software, which means that anyone can download, use, and modify it. It is simple to use and understand. MySQL's source code can be examined and modified to meet specific needs. It is licensed under the GNU General Public Licence, which establishes guidelines for what can and cannot be done with the application.
Platform Independent
Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh OS X, Ubuntu, and a variety of Unix platforms, including AIX, BSDI, FreeBSD, HP-UX, OpenBSD, Net BSD, SGI Iris, and Sun Solaris, are all supported by MySQL Server.
Highly Secured
MySQL is widely regarded as the safest and most reliable database management system available. Its data security features ensure that sensitive information is kept safe from intruders.
Client/Server Architecture
The client/server architecture involves the primary database MySQL Server and multiple clients – application programs. MySQL Server creates the database and establishes the relationship of each table. The clients then communicate with the server to request and manipulate the data with the specific SQL statements. The tasks include querying the data, saving and adding changes, etc. The server application provides the requested information on the clients’ side.
Both the server and the clients can be on the same computer or on separate computers. They communicate through the network in the latter case (local or the Internet). For all large database systems, the client/server architecture is standard.
ODBC Support
The MySQL Connector/ODBC is the name for the family of MySQL ODBC drivers (previously called MyODBC drivers) which provide access to a MySQL database using the industry standard Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) API. This reference covers Connector/ODBC 8.0, which incorporates the functionality of the Unicode driver and the ANSI driver.
You can use the ODBC interface Connector/ODBC to connect to MySQL from programming languages like Delphi, Visual Basic, and other standard Windows languages.
Foreign Key Constraints
Foreign key constraints are fully supported for InnoDB tables in MySQL databases. You can rest assured that all table cross-references are correct and valid.
Data Dictionary
MySQL has a large number of objects and a large amount of data about them. As a result, it created a dedicated data dictionary that stores all of the information about those MySQL database objects. It's a more reliable, centralised, and optimised format than the previous file-based metadata storage system. It's also a lot easier to get to and work from.
Replication
The contents of a MySQL database can be copied to other computers. This way, you can protect your data from system failures by replacing a database with a replica when necessary. This option also improves database query performance.
Transactions
The term "transaction" refers to the execution of multiple operations in a single block. A critical feature is that either all operations in the transaction are correctly executed or none of them can be performed. As a result, transactions allow programmers to interrupt or revoke commands that have already been executed – and this is just one example. This feature, in general, makes all processes easier. Transactions are also supported by MySQL, though not for the MyISAM table format. You can, however, use other formats in MySQL to ensure this useful feature.
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