MySQL is an open source RDBMS that has been around for over 20 years now. Originally developed and owned by the Swedish company MySQL AB, it is now owned by Oracle Corporation. The current stable version of MySQL is 5.7.
Some of the key strengths of MySQL can be outlined as follows:
- Cross-platform, runs on server
- Can be used for desktop and web applications
- Fast, reliable, and easy to use
- Good for small and large applications
- Uses standard SQL
- Supports query caching
- Supports Unicode
- ACID compliance when using InnoDB
- Transactions when using InnoDB