Difference between MySQL and MS SQL Server

When the programmer develops any software projects, they always use a relational database management system(RDBMS). The RDBMS allows the user to manipulate back-end data using create, delete, update, and read command. The developer can choose any database software according to their specific requirements among various RDBMS. They can either choose open-source RDBMS or commercial database systems. Most of the time, they prefer a commercial database that provides many advanced features along with the latest security and encryption technology.

The MySQL and MS SQL are widely used RDBMS software by many small and large enterprises. Both databases come with several editions according to the developer's needs and budgets. In this section, we are going to understand the major differences between MySQL and MS SQL Server from the developer’s point of view.

What is MS SQL Server?

MS SQL Server is RDBMS database software, which is developed and marketed by Microsoft Corporation. The primary goal of this software is to store, retrieve, and access data requested by the developer from the same system or using the remote location. It is introduced for competing with the MySQL and Oracle database software. Similar to other RDBMS, it also uses SQL queries to interact with the databases. However, MS SQL comes with its own query language known as T-SQL(Transact-SQL) that provides an additional set of programming constructs for declaring a variable, stored procedure, exceptional handling, etc. It uses SQL Server Management Studio(SSMS) interface tool that supports both 32-bit and 64-bit environments.

What is MySQL?

MySQL is the popular database management system used for managing the relational database. It is open-source database software, which is supported by Oracle Company. It is fast, scalable, and easy to use database management system in comparison with Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle Database. It is commonly used with PHP scripts for creating powerful and dynamic server-side or web-based enterprise applications. It uses MySQL Workbench as an interface tool for working with database architects.

It is developed, marketed, and supported by MySQL AB, a Swedish company, and written in C and C++ programming languages. Many small and big companies use MySQL. MySQL supports many Operating Systems like Windows, Linux, MacOS, etc. with C, C++, and Java languages.

Comparison between MySQL and MS SQL Server

The following are the essential comparisons between both of them:

Environment: MySQL is managed and supported by Oracle Company that can work with most of the popular operating systems. It can also work with other languages like TCL, Scheme, Perl, and Haskel. On the other hand, MS SQL is managed and supported by Microsoft Company that mainly runs on the Windows operating system. However, Microsoft recently announced that this database could also support Linux and Mac OS X operating system.

Editions: MySQL database comes in three editions that are MySQL Community Edition, MySQL Enterprise Edition, and MySQL Standard Edition. In contrast, the MS SQL database is available in multiple variations like Standard, Enterprise, Web, Workgroup, or Express editions.

Cost: MySQL is open-source database software that comes under the General Public License (GNU), so we can use it free. On the other hand, MS SQL is developed and supported by Microsoft Company and cannot be used in free. If we want to use this database, we have to buy a commercial license.

IDE Tools: MySQL and MS SQL always use different IDE tools for development. MS SQL uses SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) interface tool. While MySQL uses Enterprise Manager that allows us to connect with the server and provides database management for architecture, table design, and security.

Language Compatibility: In the MySQL database system, we can use various programming languages such as C, C++, Ada, Perl, Java, etc. Whereas in MS SQL, we can use .Net, PHP, Ruby, Visual Basic, Java, VB, and Python programming languages. The following image explains it more clearly:

Security: MySQL uses EC2 compliant services to store the data securely. Whereas MS SQL Server has EC2 compliant along with state-of-the-art security features, and Microsoft Company itself privately owns this feature.

Query Cancellation: In MySQL, we cannot cancel the query while it is in the process. On the other hand, MS SQL allows us to stop the query while it is mid-way in the process. MS SQL is also better than MySQL during the use of a transactional engine that ensures state consistency.

Filtering: MySQL filters out users, tables, rows, etc. in many ways, but it can work with only a single database at one time. On the other hand, MS SQL can work with more than one database at the same time. MS SQL allows developers to filter out users, tables, rows, etc. on one database and can store the filtered data in a different database.

MySQL vs. MS SQL Server

Let us summarize the above differences into the tabular form, as shown below: