Just when you think it's safe to jump in the PHP sandbox and play with all the cool toys, a bully comes along and tries to snatch one out of your hands. According to the MySQL website, Oracle Corporation has dropped support for versions of the MySQL open-source database that run on IBM i and AIX. Citing "very low demand," Oracle says it won't build anymore MySQL binaries for the AIX and IBM i platforms.
It's too bad that Oracle has decided to not play fair, but the company is in the database business, and in business, I suppose it doesn't make sense to continue something that doesn't benefit you.
Still, IBM users don't need to get in a huff at the prospect of losing one of the keys to running open-source apps on i, nor should i users launch into a tantrum (yet).
True, Oracle ultimately owns the MySQL code (even though it's open source). But the IBM i versions at least are available through the Zend PHP bundle that is distributed with current versions of IBM i, and you can download MySQL for i from the YiPs website as well. Besides, that latest version of MySQL for IBM i works with i 5.4, 6.1, and 7.1. "And that's quite a bit of runway that people have," says Alison Butterill, IBM's application development offerings manager for Power Systems.
And lest we forget that once a upon a time, before the IBM i version of MySQL existed, folks did download MySQL and compile it for their i systems so that they could make use of open-source programs like Joomla and SurgarCRM. I remember those days . . . and the buzz that a potential IBM i version of the database created.
Because of the way open source works, anyone still can download the source code for the MySQL database and compile it for their server environment. "They [Oracle] were creating the object code, and that's what they've stopped," Butterill says.
Oracle hasn't answered my query for more information about the decision to put an end to MySQL versions for IBM i, but it seems odd to me that there is "very low demand," especially considering that Zend seems to have a large customer following on IBM i.
Oracle will likely honor any existing support contracts it has with customers for the application. And as is the case with any open-source software, there is a community through which users can find support in the shape of forums and blogs.
For IBM's part, Big Blue is investigating the options, Butterill says. "We're focused predominantly on keeping the open-source commitment on IBM and figuring out some way of maintaining the MySQL option."
Too, IBM put a lot of time and energy into writing the IBM DB2 for i Storage Engine that translates MySQL statements for DB2 and owns that code. I doubt IBM is going to just stand by and watch as the bully tries to knock that out of the sandbox.
—Rita-Lyn Sanders, Senior Industry Editor
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