When Should You Choose Oracle vs SQL?

With myriad different database options, it can be difficult to choose which relational database management system (RDBMS) is the best fit for you and your company. Oracle SQL and MySQL, both of which are owned by Oracle, are consistently ranked as top picks. 

However, even between these two, it may not be entirely clear which one adequately fits your business needs. In this article, we’ll discuss the differences between the two databases and which one is right for you.

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What is an RDBMS?

Think of an RDBMS as a location to store data, and also as the interface to interact with the data. The data itself is stored on tables with primary keys and foreign keys that are used to organize and retrieve the information.

An RDBMS will also come with a search query language (SQL) to perform specific operations on the data. However, the query language is generally proprietary, and may not be cross-functional with other RDBMSs. 

When to Choose Oracle SQL?

If your organization is mid-size to large-size, it’s smart to obtain an Oracle SQL license. Oracle SQL was built with high scalability and huge amounts of data in mind. Keep in mind, when people say huge amounts of data this means millions of transactions a second. Think of international banks, betting sites, government agencies, and such. If you plan to have many terabytes of data, then Oracle SQL is the way to go. Also, because Oracle is meant for many simultaneous transactions, it has a noticeably larger connection pool than MySQL.

In addition to large connection pools, Oracle allows for a multitude of different ways to index data. This means it has better ways to retrieve data from the database. Not only that, but Oracle provides the option for distributed databases, which means the database can have different files located on entirely different networks. Often, huge, multinational businesses need these. Even mid-size organizations can take advantage of Oracle’s scalability.

The de facto language of choice for Oracle is PL/SQL. This is a flavor of SQL that is considered to have a slightly higher learning curve. This learning curve will translate to increased ramp-up time for developers and IT throughput. On the flip side though, PL/SQL includes numerous security optimizations that are not found in regular SQL, which is the only flavor of SQL available in MySQL.

Lastly, Oracle SQL has slightly more access security than MySQL. To gain access to the Oracle DB, a user needs a username, a password, and a valid profile. In contrast, MySQL only needs a username and password.

When to Choose MySQL?

One of the best reasons to choose MySQL is that it is free. There is absolutely no charge for setting up, using, and maintaining MySQL. This makes it a great choice for small businesses. Also, it is great for students who want to learn database fundamentals. If you are dealing with a relatively small amount of data, then MySQL is perfect (relatively small here means less than a couple of million records an hour).

MySQL also supports a wider array of operating systems like Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Unix, z/OS, BSD, Symbian, and Amiga OS. Oracle, on the other hand, only supports the first five in that list. That makes sense because a large corporation is not going to be using an open-source OS like Amiga. A small business might though, so it is great that MySQL supports these operating systems.

As previously mentioned, MySQL is open source. This means a business has access to the source code used to create it. This allows for transparency and an understanding of exactly how the code works. MySQL also can be customized — and recommendations can be made to improve the software.

Final Thoughts

The bottom line all has to do with how much data you plan to house. If there will be hundreds of transactions an hour storing millions of records, then consider Oracle SQL. Otherwise, MySQL will be a perfect choice.

Also, there is a cost-benefit angle to consider. An Oracle license is a lot of money, and MySQL is free. It is important to take into consideration the amount of capital your organization wants to spend on RDBMS management. At the end of the day, MySQL and Oracle are both great decisions — the main difference is the type of clientele they serve.