What is MariaDB?

MariaDB represents one of the milestones in the world of databases, being one of the most widespread and appreciated open source solutions for managing databases. With a history rooted in the desire to keep high-quality data management tools free and accessible, MariaDB has established itself as a top choice for developers, businesses and database enthusiasts around the world.

History and Founder

MariaDB was founded by Michael “Monty” Widenius, the same brilliant mind behind MySQL, the world's most popular relational database management system before the advent of MariaDB. Monty is known for his commitment to creating open source software and his significant contributions to the free software community. After the acquisition of MySQL by Sun Microsystems in 2008, and then by Oracle Corporation in 2010, Monty and some of the original MySQL team feared that MySQL's future as an open source project might be at risk. These concerns led to the birth of MariaDB, intended as a direct fork of MySQL, to ensure that the community always had access to a completely free and open source, high-performance relational database.

The Reasons Behind the Birth of MariaDB

The advent of MariaDB is not only a milestone in the history of open source software, but also represents a significant turning point in the management and development of relational database management systems. To fully understand the motivations behind the creation of MariaDB, it is essential to analyze the historical context, the concerns of the developer community, and the aspirations that drove Michael Widenius and his team.

The story of MariaDB begins in the context of a time when MySQL, under the leadership of its original creators, had achieved unprecedented success as the world's most popular open source database. However, MySQL's move first to Sun Microsystems and then to Oracle Corporation raised significant concerns about the project's possible future direction.

Oracle's acquisition, in particular, raised questions about MySQL's continued commitment to the open source community and the independence of its development.

The primary concerns were the potential limitations that Oracle might impose on open source development of MySQL, as well as the possible curtailment of innovation under a corporate umbrella with potentially conflicting interests. Oracle already had a powerful commercial database, and there were fears that the company might limit development of MySQL to reduce internal competition or change the licensing model to make it less accessible and open.

A fundamental principle that inspired the creation of MariaDB was the importance of community control over software development. Monty Widenius and his team firmly believed that the future of a project as crucial as MySQL should remain in the hands of those who used it and contributed to its improvement, rather than being subject to the strategic decisions of a single corporate entity. This desire to preserve freedom, accessibility, and continuous innovation in the field of open source relational databases was a key driver behind the MariaDB initiative.

Beyond immediate concerns, the birth of MariaDB was also driven by a proactive vision for the future of open source databases. The MariaDB team set out to implement improvements, features, and performance that would not only match, but in some cases surpass, that of MySQL. This included a desire to address some long-standing limitations of MySQL, such as performance and scalability, and to explore new directions in query optimization, storage management, and data security.

Compatibility with MySQL

The compatibility between MariaDB and MySQL represents one of the fundamental aspects that have allowed MariaDB to quickly establish itself as a valid alternative to MySQL. This compatibility, however, is not just a matter of convenience, but a technical distinguishing feature that deserves detailed analysis.

MariaDB was initially designed to be a drop-in replacement for MySQL, meaning that users could replace MySQL with MariaDB in their technology stack without making changes to the code of applications that used MySQL as a database backend. This compatibility extended to several levels, including the following technical aspects:

• Communication Protocols: MariaDB is designed to use the same communication protocols as MySQL, allowing client applications to communicate with the MariaDB server exactly as they would with a MySQL server.
• Data Structures and Indexes: Compatibility extends to internal data structures, including database schemas, tables, and indexes, ensuring that read and write operations work without modification.
• API: Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for application development remain consistent between MySQL and MariaDB, ensuring that code developed for MySQL works without alteration when moving to MariaDB.
• SQL Commands and Features: Most MySQL-specific SQL commands, functions and features are supported directly by MariaDB, ensuring a smooth transition for existing applications.

Divergence from MariaDB Version 10

With the introduction of version 10, MariaDB began to implement a number of improvements and features that were not present in MySQL. This evolution has led MariaDB to diverge from MySQL in ways that go beyond simple binary compatibility, introducing new opportunities to optimize and extend database applications. Some of the most significant developments include:

• Advanced Storage Engines: MariaDB introduced storage engines like Aria and TokuDB, offering alternatives to InnoDB and MyISAM with improved performance and features, such as better transaction management and specific optimizations for large volumes of data.
• SQL Extensions and Functions: New SQL extensions and features specific to MariaDB, not found in MySQL, allow developers to leverage more powerful and flexible queries, improving performance and simplifying application development.
• Performance and Feature Improvements: MariaDB has implemented significant performance improvements, such as query optimization, more efficient query cache management, and new security features, which exceed the capabilities of MySQL.

Maintaining Compatibility at the API and Protocol Level

Despite this divergence, MariaDB has maintained strong API and protocol compatibility with MySQL. This approach has allowed MariaDB to offer new features and improvements while maintaining the ability for users to easily migrate from MySQL. In practice, this means that applications can benefit from improvements in performance and functionality without having to be significantly rewritten or modified.

The MariaDB Backup Tool

MariaDB includes a dedicated tool for backing up and restoring databases, called MariaDB Backup. This tool is designed to offer an effective and reliable method to safeguard data, allowing full, incremental and snapshot-supported backups, thus ensuring data consistency without interrupting read or write access during the backup operation.

The MariaDB Backup tool differs significantly from a SQL dump produced with mysqldump for several reasons. First of all, mysqldump creates a text-based SQL dump file representing the state of the data at the time of backup, requiring the database to be locked for writes during the process to ensure data consistency. This can lead to downtime for applications that depend on database availability.

On the contrary, MariaDB Backup is able to perform "hot" backups, i.e. while the database is in use, without the need for locks, minimizing the impact on performance and availability of the service. Supports full and incremental backups, offering the ability to reduce storage space and the time needed to perform backups after the first. Additionally, MariaDB Backup can create physical snapshots of data, which can be restored much faster than re-importing a SQL dump, essential for reducing downtime in recovery scenarios. These features make MariaDB Backup a more advanced and flexible solution for managing backups in critical production environments.

References

For more information on MariaDB, its features, documentation, and support, visit the official website MariaDB.org it is the primary and most reliable resource. The site offers access to a wide range of resources, including tutorials, technical documentation, community forums, and the latest news on MariaDB development.

Conclusion

MariaDB symbolizes the importance of open source in the world of software, providing a solid alternative to MySQL that not only respects, but often surpasses, its predecessor in terms of performance, features and community support. With its ongoing commitment to innovation and software freedom, MariaDB continues to be a pillar of modern database management, supporting applications and services around the world.