MySQL

MySQL is a popular open source database software that I've used for years. It can be used on basically all platforms available from Windows and Mac to Solaris, RedHat, Fedora and more. The installation is relatively easy with its installer which you can do automatically or manually. There's a wizard to follow if you choose automatic which you can follow to install it which really speeds things up. It helps also that it displays which port is picked up by the MySQL with assistance to create your first table or database. It's work on its own as well so you don't need any other software to enable its functionality which is great as an entry point for newbies as well. This platform is very well established and has solid major features such high availability, distributed and replicated set ups. It's been incredibly stable in the nearly ten years I've been using it without a single issue related to the software. My issues have only been with malware planted in a database which was a pretty huge hassle but to no fault of the database itself. The visual model editor is great because you can keep a design reference close that is so visual. The SQL editors are solid as well and interactive. I like the server dashboard it's quick and detailed and has many throughputs and connections possible. It's super to connect to others servers in a click too which is awesome and happen with a single click after you're all setup. You can run multiple queries simultaneously which is terrific. And you can login into other software in it from other than as a SQL user. I love that it's the common database type in Cpanel. It's super easy to use FTP to work with MySQL on its own, but Cpanel has some cool tools which can speed up your work. I've edited and updated MySQL several times with no help from a professional inside Cpanel which makes it about as beginner friendly as it gets. There's a huge community of active users for MySQL which you can utilize anytime which is great. That's one of the best features of open source software are their communities which are typically friendly and helpful so you can truly start learning on your own without having to pay for your curriculum. Just by beginning to use MySQL you will take leaps and bounds in your development while rarely finding yourself stumped because you can ask for help freely and that's so valuable.

The explain function seems to be limited in that it could provide enhanced information which is available in other similar software. I've read it can be slow with a massive amount of data but I'm a small business and have never experienced this issue. I've read there used to be a lot of bugs when you the model designer but that's it's great now so I'll keep an eye on it but good to know.

Overall, the user interface and is relatively easy to understand and start using once you download the software and install it. MySQL is massively configurable and extensible because it's open source. So you can adapt it to meet very custom requirements and this fact combined with the number of platforms it works well makes it a very robust database platform. Overall, you can't ever complain about such great value as it's free and you have good support available. While you can set it up yourself using their step by step installer and get going very quickly. It's resilient and useful software for so many applications whether they are web based, or not and support multiple distributions which other similar do not. Highly recommended.