The MySQL database server is the world's most popular open source database. Its architecture makes it extremely fast and easy to customize. Extensive reuse of code within the software and a minimalistic approach to producing functionally-rich features has resulted in a database management system unmatched in speed, compactness, stability and ease of deployment. The unique separation of the core server from the storage engine makes it possible to run with strict transaction control or with ultra-fast transactionless disk access, whichever is most appropriate for the situation.

MySQL includes the MySQL storage engines and the InnoDB storage engine. InnoDB is a transaction-safe, ACID-compliant storage engine with commit, rollback, crash recovery and row-level locking capabilities. This version is for users who want the high-performance MySQL database with full transaction support.

	ANSI SQL syntax support
	The MySQL database server supports a broad subset of the ANSI SQL 99 syntax, along with extra extensions such as the REPLACE statement and the LIMIT clause for SELECT and DELETE. Alternative syntaxes from other database systems are also supported, to make porting applications easier. MySQL coverage of the complete ANSI SQL 99 syntax is expanding, with version 4.0 introducing support for the UNION statement.
	Independent storage engines
	MySQL database server's unique independent storage engines let you choose the type of database storage that is most appropriate for your particular needs. If you need row-level locking and transaction support, you can use the InnoDB storage engine. If your application doesn't require transactions, you can use the MyISAM storage engine for maximum performance.
	Transactions
	Using the InnoDB or Berkeley DB (BDB) storage engines, the MySQL database server supports transactions. The InnoDB storage engine also supports foreign key constraints.
	Flexible security system, including SSL support
	The MySQL database server has an advanced permissions and security system, including support for SSL transport-layer encryption. As of version 4.0, the security system also allows you to limit server resources on a per-user basis.
	Query caching
	MySQL includes a new query cache, which can significantly increase the performance of commonly-issued queries, without requiring any special programming. Performance can be increased by over 200% in typical usage.
	Full-text indexing and searching
	Full-text indexes allow you to search fields containing arbitrary text for specific words and phrases, including relevance rankings. With version 4.0, we've expanded the fulltext search to include exact phrase matching and Boolean search operators, which allows for even more fine-grained control over your search results.
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