MySQL AB is eyeing a November release for the much awaited Version 5 of its open-source database, a major upgrade that the company hopes will make it a bigger player among enterprise customers.

The company is calling Version 5 its most significant upgrade yet. It adds a handful of features considered important for enterprises that have long been available from market leaders Oracle Corp., IBM and Microsoft Corp. Chief among them are triggers, views and stored procedures.

"5.0 is going to open up the door for people who were holding off migration until MySQL had all of the proven enterprise features. " Marten Mickos CEO, MySQL AB (March 2005 / SearchOpenSource)

MySQL has also changed the way its database performs some common tasks, such as error checking, to make it behave like other databases. The idea is to make it easier for a database administrator to switch from another platform, encouraging migrations. The "old" ways of doing things will still be an option, and the vast majority of current MySQL applications will run unchanged on Version 5, according to David Axmark, a MySQL co-founder who has the job title "open sorcerer.Axmark positioned MySQL 5 as a no-frills product for a wide range of data management needs, calling it "not the Rolls-Royce but the economy class".The price for MySQL Network, company's subscription support service, will not change, Axmark said. It ranges from $594 to $4,806 per server per year, depending on the level required.

Source: ComputerWorldPrashanth RaiTag(s):Open Source,MySQL