Until recently MySQL was the leading open source database across the world. However, PostgreSQL has become the default choice for many new projects and younger developers, thanks to its active community, rich feature set (especially extensions), and strong brand momentum.
Earlier this month Oracle put out a blog post on how it plans to expand the community edition of MySQL. In response the MySQL community has now published an open letter inviting Oracle to join it in a conversation about establishing a non-profit foundation to support and ensure the future of the MySQL ecosystem.
It argues that this would create a ‘vendor-neutral governance model’ where contributions are evaluated on merit, not filtered through one company’s internal priorities. This would open the door for major tech companies that want to participate but currently face too many barriers. Contributors would be allowed to innovate without waiting for permission.
A foundation would also look to rebuild transparency and trust as well as unifying the ecosystem. It would drive adoption and advocacy by pooling resources in order to create a central ‘Everything MySQL’ hub listing all distributions, cloud providers, and tools. It would offer free training, certification paths, and university partnerships to engage the next generation, along with vendor-neutral conferences and local meetups that aren’t tied to any single company’s marketing agenda.
The aim is to reach alignment on a direction by the end of March this year. You can read the full letter and sign to show your support for the initiative here.
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