There can be no doubt now: Oracle is trying to destroy MySQL. Consider:

1. They buy Innobase, the company responsible for the back end data format that makes MySQL go.
2. They forge a partnership with Zend, the company responsible for PHP, which is the lanuguage most often used with MySQL on the Web.
3. Now, word via Slashdot and CNet, is that they’re going to offer a free “Express Edition” of their 10g database.

They’re not even trying to hide the fact that they’re gunning for MySQL:

The new low-end edition is aimed squarely at free and open-source alternatives to Oracle’s namesake database, said Andrew Mendelsohn, senior vice president of Oracle’s server technologies division.

Here’s my prediction for a secondary effect —

This action will ultimately lower Oracle DBA salaries. Oracle always had a huge barrier to entry in its price and infrastructure requirements, so you didn’t run it unless you were in a big enterprise. Consequently, there are less Oracle DBAs in the world than other database platforms.

But now we’re going to see a huge wave of people who know how to make Oracle go on a small scale. Companies will start hiring these people for less than a full-blown Oracle DBA salary, and either use them for smaller Oracle installments, or “train them up.”

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