MySQL, open-source relational database management software, owned by the computer software company Oracle, that allows users to interact with large amounts of data across multiple databases. MySQL is one of the most popular database management programs used worldwide.

　　Though SQL is sometimes referred to as “S-Q-L,” it is more often called “sequel,” in acknowledgment of its historical roots as “Structured English Query Language.”

　　A database allows users to store and organize large amounts of data in a computer. Data is typically stored in a relational database format, wherein it is arranged into rows and columns that form groups of tables. This helps to improve the efficiency of processing and querying data. Computer scientists can use a programming language known as Structured Query Language (SQL) to manage, parse, and analyze the data stored on SQL Servers, which act as relational database management systems. Users can instruct the SQL Server to query or identify data. SQL can also be used to insert data, modify and delete data, and even create, modify, and delete entire tables. Though SQL is sometimes referred to as “S-Q-L,” it more often is called “sequel,” in acknowledgment of its historical roots as “Structured English Query Language.”

　　SQL was invented in the 1970s by IBM researchers Raymond Boyce and Donald Chamberlin, though they called it “SEQUEL” at the time. In 1986 the American National Standards Institute designated SQL as the standard for interacting with relational databases. In 1995 MySQL was developed by the Swedish company MySQL AB (acquired by Oracle in 2010) to provide a user-friendly relational database management software. In 2000 MySQL was released with a GNU General Public License, making it open source and free to download.

　　MySQL software provides users with a graphical user interface that allows them to make requests on database servers in order to receive output values. It is generally considered to be easier to extract values using MySQL than raw SQL code. Because MySQL is written in C and C++ programming languages, MySQL is compatible with most operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. MySQL also supports connectivity through application programming interfaces, which can link data to various programs, libraries, and administrative tools.

　　MySQL has surpassed the user base of competitors such as Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB. Multiple websites that use a database management system use MySQL, including Google, Facebook, and Adobe. More than half of all information technology companies use MySQL to manage their databases as well. Web developers often deploy MySQL as part of a software set known as LAMP, so named because it includes Linux, Apache Web server, MySQL, and PHP (a scripting language), all of which are open-source software. The LAMP stack is frequently used to create high-performance Web applications.

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