034 | Databases in Detail: MySQL — The Versatile Relational Leader

26.06.2025

Following our overview of database types, it’s time to take a closer look at one of the most well-known and widely used players in the relational world — MySQL. Over the years, MySQL has become the de facto standard for web applications and is an integral part of the famous LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Python/Perl).

What is MySQL?

MySQL is a free and open-source (with a commercial version available from Oracle) relational database management system (RDBMS). It was created in the mid-1990s and quickly gained popularity due to its simplicity, speed, and reliability — especially for web applications. MySQL stores data in structured tables and uses SQL (Structured Query Language) to perform operations such as creating, reading, updating, and deleting data.