Welcome, data explorers, to the grand dining hall of MySQL, where today you get your first taste of hands-on creation! You’ve learned about library metaphors, database magic, and why MySQL is the world’s super-organized librarian. Now, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and set the table—well, the database table—for the feast ahead. By the […]

When you design a database, one of the first big decisions is how you want to store each piece of data. Think of MySQL data types as the basic building materials for your database: concrete for foundations, glass for windows, wood for bookshelves. If you pick the right material for each job, everything fits together […]

Welcome back, data explorer! You now know the basics of MySQL’s structure. But how do you actually step into this wonderland of tables and data? That’s where the MySQL Shell comes in—think of it as your trusty librarian, always ready to fetch books, organize sections, or gently shush unruly queries. What Is MySQL Shell? MySQL […]

Welcome to your journey into the world of MySQL! If you’ve ever wondered about the invisible engine powering your favorite apps, managing your music playlist, or keeping track of your pizza orders, you’re about to discover one of the most trusted tools working behind the scenes: MySQL. Databases, like MySQL, are the unsung heroes of […]

MySQL HeatWave is the only fully managed MySQL database service that combines transactions, analytics, machine learning, and GenAI services, without ETL duplication. Also included is HeatWave Lakehouse, which enables users to query data in object storage, MySQL databases, or a combination of both. Users can deploy MySQL HeatWave–powered apps on a choice of public clouds: […]

With automatic refresh of Lakehouse tables, MySQL HeatWave brings near real-time analytics and simplified data pipelines to data from object storage also. In this blog post we take a look at this feature, including setting it up, and its benefits.

Right now, you’re probably hoping someone else will deal with this MySQL 8.0 end-of-life situation. Maybe your team can squeeze another few months out of it. Maybe Oracle will extend support. Maybe it won’t be as bad as everyone says. We get it.  You’ve got enough things going on without adding “major database upgrade” to […]

By Ayten Abdelrazek  –  September 10, 2025 “AI is moving fast. The real edge? Using your data, your tools, your way.” — Heather VanCura, Oracle, TechCrunch 2025  At TechCrunch 2025, Oracle took the stage with a clear message: AI doesn’t have to be complicated, and you shouldn’t need to duct-tape half a dozen services together […]

Today’s developers strive for agility without sacrificing security or performance, especially when building data-driven apps and AI solutions. That’s why we’re excited to introduce the MySQL HeatWave REST Service (MRS), a fully managed, integrated solution that lets you create RESTful API endpoints instantly, directly from your MySQL HeatWave databases. There’s no need for backend coding, middleware, or third-party frameworks […]

Regional Indicator Symbols

in Unicode are the codes starting at U+1F1E6 to U+1F1FF. If you combine two of them in a valid ISO-3166-1 alpha-2

codes, they produce the flag corresponding to that code.

We want a function flag_emoji() that takes such a two-letter code and emits the appropriate Unicode codepoint:

SELECT flag_emoji('GB') AS gb, flag_emoji('us') AS us, flag_emoji('de') AS de \G
gb: 🇬🇧
us: 🇺🇸
de: 🇩🇪
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

MySQL

For that, we define a helper function unichar() that makes us a Unicode character from a codepoint …