You must have some confusions regarding the SQL Server and MySQL, We are here to resolve them. By the end article, you will get a clear idea about both of these. You will also get a lot of help through this article in choosing the right one for your usage. This is the comparison between the two most popular database management systems.

This is a detailed comparison which will not only help you in choosing the right one but a lot of things. Firstly, you will get to know about the base of these platforms; RDBMS and SQL. Then, you will get to know about SQL Server & MySQL. After this, you will get to see the similarities as well as differences between SQL Server & MySQL.

Without wasting any further time, let’s jump into the overview of RDBMS and SQL. These are the basics of what you are going to use as a whole.

An Overview of RDBMS & SQL

You must have heard about DBMS(Database Management System). It is a platform that allows you to access, change, delete, or modify the data from your database. RDBMS is a form of DBMS only and It states as Relational Database Management System. It is one of the most popular parts of DBMS.

RDBMS do the operations on the relations of your database. It can be anything that connects the database. As the database consists of tables, entities, etc, and the link between these is known as the relation. The relation can link one column or row of your table to another table’s column or row. 

You can easily organize the tables with the help of relations. It is easier to manage the data if the rows & tables are connected wherever a link is required. SQL Server & MySQL both come under RDBMS only. 

However, To perform the actions on RDBMS, you will require to do it with SQL. It stands for Structured Query Language. It is the language that works on RDBMS. Whatever you would like to do on RDBMS, will have to be operated through SQL only. Most of the RDBMS software has a similar syntax of SQL. So, SQL is used to execute commands on RDBMS.

SQL Server and MySQL – Overview

Firstly, We should talk about the SQL Server and MySQL before going into the similarities and differences of the same. Here is the small overview of SQL Server and MySQL.

SQL Server

SQL Server is also known as Microsoft SQL Server. As you must have guessed it, SQL Server is developed by Microsoft. It is available from the 1980s ( a lot earlier than MySQL even existed). Most of the large enterprises rely on SQL Server for their tasks related to the database.

Being developed by Microsoft, it is reliable & most enterprises have the trust on SQL Server for their database management. Microsoft offers a great number of services and tools for managing the data or business development under MSSQL. 

Some of the tools of MSSQL are Service Integration Services, Data Quality Services for data management. Also, MSSQL provides tools like SQL Server Reporting Services and SQL Server Analysis for data analysis as well.

MySQL

MySQL was developed by MYSQL AB. However, now, it is owned by Oracle. It became available from the 1990s. It is one of the very first open-source DBMS platforms. MySQL has a lot of variations available. However, the syntax used in MySQL is mostly similar.

Generally, MySQL is used along with PHP & Apache Web Server on a Linux system. All of this combined is typically referred to as LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP). You get to use MySQL with the help of a client.

Similarities between SQL Server & MySQL

We have gone through the features of both of these platforms. We have tried to include most of the similarities that we could found. Here are the similarities:

Scalable

Both of these platforms are scalable. You can always rely on them for any major changes you would like to do. In the long run, both of these platforms are suitable. If you are going to use for an organization, both of these are good-to-go ones.

Performance

You don’t need to worry about the performance while using any of the SQL Server or MySQL. Both of these have the capability to handle the large database as well. So, you don’t have to worry about the performance as they are pretty stable & can handle easily.

Parameters

Both of these have similar parameters mostly. SQL Server and MySQL both have the use of Primary Key and Foreign key. You can create a relationship between tables with the help of these keys.

Multiple Database

Both of these platforms allow the user to host a lot of databases on a single server. This is easier for those who have multiple databases to store. 

Use of Index

You must have seen an index at the beginning of any book. Both of these platforms have the concept of indexes. This allows you to sort your data in a systematic manner. With the help of the index, you can optimize the performance of your database.

These were the similarities between both of these platforms. However, one can have an advantage in a certain field but generally, they are mostly similar in the above sections. You need to check the differences between both of these platforms in order to get a clear idea. 

Differences between SQL Server and MySQL

You must have got an idea about what are the similarities in SQL Server & MySQL. Now comes the time for differences. This will actually help you to choose one of these. We have made various points on which both of these differ. You need to check according to your priority & see who gives you better value out of it.

Here are the major differences between MySQL and SQL Server:

Compatibility

MySQL is compatible with almost all operating systems. You can use MySQL with most of the platforms. However, It was associated with Linux initially. Now, it is compatible with every major OS. It even works along with most of the languages for development purposes. Generally, it is used along with PHP.

SQL Server was initially compatible with Microsoft Windows only (being a Microsoft product). However, in the year 2016, Microsoft announced the support for Linux & Mac. But, it can only run on these operating systems with the help of a Docker Container. SQL Server is for those developers who work with .NET as the development language. 

Charges

Talking about Charges, MySQL is an open-source project & comes under General Public Licence(GPL). You don’t need to purchase any license in order to use MySQL on your system. It is completely free for use. However, you need to pay for any technical assistance that you might need in using the same.

SQL Server on the other hand is a paid software. You need to purchase a license of SQL Server from Microsoft in order to use it. If you are an enterprise, you can purchase the Licence of SQL Server that will provide full features to you. 

Syntax Usage

Both the platforms are based on SQL, there are some variations in the syntax that they use. You will have to type different syntax in both of these platforms. You can get an idea about the difference in the Syntax of both of these through an example. Here are the syntax used on SQL Server & MySQL for the same command.

MySQL

SELECT age FROM person

ORDER BY age ASC

LIMIT 3;

SQL Server

SELECT TOP 3 WITH TIES *

FROM person

ORDER BY age ASC

With this, you must have got an idea about the syntax in MySQL and SQL Server. This particular command will execute 3 entries who are the youngest in the table ‘person’.

We cannot actually tell who is the winner or which one has better syntax usage. You need to check the syntax yourself & see which one is comfortable for you. The basic difference according to the syntax is: Both of these use some sort of variations in the Syntax of SQL. It is totally up to you, which one to prefer.

Storage Mode

The storage of your data on these platforms can play an important role as well. As they both are used in storing the data, you need to know about the storage methods of both. Well, you must check how these both stores the data in your files. 

MySQL gives the opportunity to the user directly. It allows you to use different storage engines for all the tables on the basis of speed, reliability & other factors. Some of the most popular engines that you might see on MySQL are InnoDB & MyISAM.

On the other hand, SQL Server stores the data in a single storage engine. It uses the storage engine that is developed by Microsoft only. You don’t get any extra option for changing the search engines for your tables in SQL Server.

Backup & Restore

Backup & Restore is also an amazing feature if you are concerned about the backups of your database. They differ in the way they execute the backup & restore process for your database files. Have a look at the process of backups & restoring in MySQL and SQL Server.

MySQL locks the database when under the backup process. This helps it to resolve the inconsistency that can occur because of any changes during the process. This way, you will not have any permission to make changes in the database that is currently under the backup process. However, you can dump the lock on the database during the backup process using:

–single-transaction

This flag will uphold the lock & you will be able to access the database even during the backup process. This might become helpful during backing up a large database which will consume a lot of time in the backup.

However, SQL Server doesn’t have any such control on the database during backups. There is no lock on the database during the backup process & you can access your databases. You do not need to enter any additional flag/command for this situation.

Filtering

You might need to filter out various entries from your rows, columns, tables in different ways. Both of these platforms allow you to filter out various items but the process differs. You need to check which one has the best Filtering method for your usage.

MySQL allows you to filter out tables, rows & users in various different ways. But, you will need to run different queries all the time for the individual databases. This means you will have to run multiple queries in order to filter any attribute all the time.

SQL Server has a different fundamental for the filtering process. You can simply do database-per-database or row-based filtering on SQL Server. It makes the filtering process easier for you. The developer doesn’t need to worry about the number of databases while filtering. This is what makes it easy to filter out rows on SQL Server than MySQL.

Security Controls

Both of these platforms have great security controls. You can totally rely on both of these for the security controls, as they are both EC2 complaints. However, you get to see slight variations in the security control of both of these platforms.

MySQL allows the edit and access to the database files by other processes during the runtime. So other processes can access or edit the database even if the database is executed or running.

However, SQL Server is completely different from MySQL. It is required to run an instance in SQL Server to perform any certain function. This makes it difficult to be hacked because of the controls on the database. Any hacker will have difficulties while trying to execute any function on your database.

Community

You always get confidence when you see the support of someone. Hence, the community plays an important role in considering any platform for usage. You can rely on the support for any queries that may arrive while using any of these platforms.

MySQL requires money to get to support. You simply have to pay in order to get your queries resolved by the official assistance. As mentioned earlier, it is a free-to-use open-source project, you need to pay for the official assistance only. But, you get all the solutions on the internet, which will save your bucks as well.

On the other hand, SQL Server has free support. As it is a paid software, you have already paid the amount to the developers. You don’t need to pay again for any official assistance. The community is small but you can reach out directly to the official support. Just visit the official website and check for the support option to get a solution to your query.

IDE (Integrated Development Environment)

Both of these platforms support IDE i.e., Integrated Development Environment tools. These tools provide a great environment for development. You get to choose the tools & methods according to your preferences.

Some of the IDE tools that MySQL use – MySQL Workbench. On the other hand, SQL Server has – SQL Server Management Studio. Both of these come with their own advantages and disadvantages. You can check out the functionality of these IDE tools according to your usage. Select the one which you like & use them accordingly.

Conclusion

That’s it for the comparison between SQL Server & MySQL. If you have any doubts/queries regarding these both, let us know through the comments. We hope that you must have got a clear idea about which one to choose & why. If there is anything else that we can add to this comparison, let us know about that as well.

To wrap up, These are the things we have covered till now:

  • Overview of RDBMS &SQL
  • Brief about SQL Server and MySQL
  • Similarities between MySQL and SQL Server
    • Scalable
    • Performance
    • Parameters
    • Multiple Database
    • Use of Index
  • Differences between MySQL and SQL Server
    • Compatibility
    • Charges/Cost
    • Syntax Usage
    • Storage Mode
    • Backup & Restore
    • Filtering
    • Security Controls
    • Community
    • IDE Tools

Which on you chose finally? SQL Server or MySQL? Let us know through the comments. Having any suggestions? Share them with us. Follow us on social media platforms to get the latest updates. Share these articles with your friends who are confused between SQL Server & MySQL.

Happy SQL’ing😜!!

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