MySQL 8.1 Released With More JSON Additions, Other Changes

[phoronix]

Phoronix: MySQL 8.1 Released With More JSON Additions, Other Changes

MySQL 8.1 is available today with the community server builds now available for this latest major update to this popular SQL database server...

https://www.phoronix.com/news/MySQL-8.1-Released

[geearf]

Is anyone using this instead of Maria?

[q2dg]

Do you know if these novelties are already incorpored in MariaDB (with another name, maybe) or they aren't yet? Thanks!

[Ironmask]

Is anyone using this instead of Maria?

Pointy-headed bosses who are reading software advertising material from the late 90s, and kids just learning to program passing around the same cargo-cult learning material that says "use MySQL, trust me bro", also from the 90s.
But yeah when I read any software development blogs they're either using Maria or writing about transferring to it. Or from it. I mean, you can do way better than Maria. I feel like Maria is just putting a bandaid on the wound of MySQL dependency.

[timofonic]

Do you know if these novelties are already incorpored in MariaDB (with another name, maybe) or they aren't yet? Thanks!

No experience in both, but MariaDB added many JSON stuff since at least 2021. Maybe someone could explain about this.

[ehansin]

I am not a database expert, but I ended up learning a bit here and there. Much of my ideas that I want to code for need a database backend (heck, all of them really!) I am comfortable enough with MySQL and MariaDB, but pretty sure going forward, where I am running the show (not using an existing software package, e.g. Drupal), I will use PostgreSQL where a relational database fits (assuming lightweight SQLite is not more appropriate.)

[gggeek]

Do you know if these novelties are already incorpored in MariaDB (with another name, maybe) or they aren't yet? Thanks!

No idea either, but to be frank, I always read the changelogs for both databases, and, while the changes they incorporate are always different, so one db will have something which the other is missing, it seems to me that there is more work going on the "dark side", both in terms of refactoring and removing historical cruft, improving scalability and performance, and adding new features. It might just be that Oracle has more money for advertising their work though ;-)

What seems more interesting this time around is, rather than bugfixes and features, the changes in the support policy.

On an unrelated note, the last two releases of the venerand Oracle DB also show a welcome focus on DX features, which I wish I had available when I was using that technology....

[dkasak]

Is anyone using this instead of Maria?

From what I see, everybody is using this instead of Maria. The database company that I work for competes with MySQL, and we have a comprehensive set of utilities for people coming from the MySQL ecosystem. I have NEVER seen someone come from Maria yet. Obviously "someone" is using it. I suspect some nerdy types working in organisations where "anything goes" are pushing the MariaDB installations.

Anyway, to directly answer your question with some stats from Google:

MariaDB has market share of 2.21% in relational-databases market. MariaDB competes with 39 competitor tools in relational-databases category. The top alternatives for MariaDB relational-databases tool are MySQL with 43.89%, PostgreSQL with 17.36%, Oracle Database with 12.32% market share.

[geearf]

Pointy-headed bosses who are reading software advertising material from the late 90s, and kids just learning to program passing around the same cargo-cult learning material that says "use MySQL, trust me bro", also from the 90s.
But yeah when I read any software development blogs they're either using Maria or writing about transferring to it. Or from it. I mean, you can do way better than Maria. I feel like Maria is just putting a bandaid on the wound of MySQL dependency.

I am not a DB guy and really only use lite, what would be better?

From what I see, everybody is using this instead of Maria. The database company that I work for competes with MySQL, and we have a comprehensive set of utilities for people coming from the MySQL ecosystem. I have NEVER seen someone come from Maria yet. Obviously "someone" is using it. I suspect some nerdy types working in organisations where "anything goes" are pushing the MariaDB installations.

Anyway, to directly answer your question with some stats from Google:

MariaDB has market share of 2.21% in relational-databases market. MariaDB competes with 39 competitor tools in relational-databases category. The top alternatives for MariaDB relational-databases tool are MySQL with 43.89%, PostgreSQL with 17.36%, Oracle Database with 12.32% market share.

Wow I did not expect that!
Looking online quickly www.datanyze.com has different numbers but a similar idea to, MariaDB is hardly used. which is interesting since the founder of one is the founder of the other too, you'd think people would like that.

[Ironmask]

I am not a DB guy and really only use lite, what would be better?

As in... SQLite?
If you don't know what to use and SQLite does everything you need, then thats fine.
Really every other SQL implementation is just about letting teams of people manage them. That's it. If you're a one-man team or even a two-man team, SQLite is perfectly fine. If you're running a 50 man team maintaining a huge website where your database is the heart of your business, then yeah, you want something with more sophisticated administration systems. Otherwise, just out of pure functionality, SQLite is good enough. It has some primitive JSON functionality, although I don't even consider JSON because I feel like if you're just shoving JSON into a SQL database, you're either not designing your tables right or you just shouldn't be using SQL.
Basically:
Applications, AI, custom filetypes, etc., use SQLite.
Websites, multi-service backend architecture, use PostgreSQL.
Or to make it even simpler, if you're port-forwarding and it's not a small video game server, use Postgres. Anything else, Postgres is overkill.