Even though MySQL is an open source company, there are some areas where we could do a better job being even more open. One of these is more regular publication of database benchmarks. Oddly enough, it's an area where MySQL shines.

When I joined MySQL in 2003, one of the reasons that attracted me was that even without a lot of marketing, it was clear what the major advantages of our products were: performance, reliability and ease of use. And of course, MySQL is open source. Those product characteristics were reinforced whenever I spoke to customers, partners and employees about MySQL. There were also some good outside proofpoints such as a benchmark by eWeek that provided credible third-party validation. We weren't just drinking our own Kool-Aid, so to …

This summer, C++ gone wild. These are brilliant:

int Log_event::read_log_event(IO_CACHE* file, String* packet,
                              pthread_mutex_t* log_lock)

and

#ifndef MYSQL_CLIENT
Log_event* Log_event::read_log_event(IO_CACHE* file,
                                     pthread_mutex_t* log_lock,
                                     bool old_format)
#else
Log_event* Log_event::read_log_event(IO_CACHE* file, bool old_format)
#endif

and

Log_event* Log_event::read_log_event(const char* buf, int event_len,
                                     const char **error, bool old_format)
        

Save me.

Yesterday, at the MySQL User Conference 2005, I hosted a Birds of a Feather session on MySQL and GIS. I spoke with a couple of guys from Trakm8, a company from Dorset, England. They have a very fascinating system built on top of MySQL’s GIS support and some of their custom tracking devices. They showed me their software and we discussed their platform. I gave them some (hopefully useful) tips regarding MySQL.

Their system includes an embedded PC, a GPS, and a GPRS modem (cell phone), and given some power is able to track a vehicle (or anything else) anywhere within coverage of the cell network. This is exactly the kind of people and projects/products I was hoping to get at my BoF session. As an aside, there’s a …