There are a lot of forms of transportation, from walking to bike riding, motorcycles and cars to busses, trains and airplanes.  Each mode of transport will get you from point a to point b, but one may be faster, or more comfortable and another more cost effective.  It’s important to keep in mind when comparing databases like Oracle and MySQL that there are indeed a lot of feature differences, a lot of cultural differences, and a lot of cost differences.  There are also a lot of impassioned people on both sides arguing at the tomfoolery of the other.  Hopefully we can dispel some of the myths and discuss the topic fairly.

** See also: Migrating MySQL to Oracle Guide **

As a long time Oracle DBA turned MySQL expert, I’ve spent time with clients running both database engines and many migrating from one to the other.  I can speak to many of the differences between the two environments.  I’ll cover the following:

1. Query & Optimizer Limitations
2. Security Differences
3. Replication & HA Are Done Differently
4. Installation & Administration Simplicity
5. Watch Out – Triggers, Stored Procedures, Materialized Views & Snapshots
6. Huge Community Support – Open-source Add-ons
7. Enter The Cloud With MySQL
8. Backup and Recovery
9. Miscellaneous Considerations

Check back again as we edit and publish the various sections above.

Related posts:

1. Migrating MySQL to Oracle
2. APress – Expert Oracle DB Arch by Tom Kyte
3. Oracle Expert – New York City
4. Oracle DBA Interview Questions