How different is MySQL then Oracle SQL?

[Roberto Cheritaz]

At my work,  when supporting AppWorx, I had to use sqlplus to connect to the Oracle databases that were used for the AppWorx masters.  This was thru a terminal session via CLI.  90% of the work was performing queries for troubleshooting purposes.  Now, I'm in a different role and will be learning to work with MySQL Workbench.  How much different, or how large will the learning curve for me to be productive in MySQL?

[Campbell Ritchie]

I would have thought the learning curve will not be too steep for the plain simple SQL part of the process. Don't know about using CLI.

[Tim Holloway]

The Oracle DBMS is actually more similar, in fact quite similar, to PostgreSQL. I've heard rumors that in fact, they came from a common root.

MySQL is quite a bit different, and for a long time it lagged in advanced features such as transactions.

But thanks to SQL92 standards, the biggest differences are in the functions and the stored procedures. One reason why I discourage the use of stored procedures. Can't help it about the functions, though.

I have an O'Reilly pocket guide to the popular SQL databases that helps me a lot in keeping track of what goes where, as it covers PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle and DB2 and I've worked with all 4, sometimes more than one in a day. But I couldn't get interviewed for a job because the HR department wouldn't accept anything but Oracle experience and that was before I ended up at another company doing Oracle on a daily basis. I hate HR recruiters.  

If you're interested, the ISBN is 0-596-00512-1 for the March 2004 edition. Hopefully there's a newer one now, but that old one works for most of what I need, with an assist from the Internet.

The Mysql CLI equivalent to SQL*Plus is simpy "mysql". There's also a mysqldump utility that's good for backups and transport. And last I checked, neither Oracle nor DB2 came with such a civilised feature. Couldn't even move DB/2 from iSeries to eSeries. Had to use an ETL tool.

[Joel Murach]

Hi Roberto,

It seems like your question is about the learning curve from the sqlplus CLI compared to the MySQL Workbench GUI. If I'm right about that, I don't think there will be much of a learning curve for you at all as I think Workbench is probably a lot easier to use than sqlplus. Also, for basic queries, I don't think you'll have much trouble switching from Oracle SQL to MySQL. They're pretty similar, in my opinion.

[Roland Mueller]

Joel Murach wrote:Hi Roberto,

It seems like your question is about the learning curve from the sqlplus CLI compared to the MySQL Workbench GUI. If I'm right about that, I don't think there will be much of a learning curve for you at all as I think Workbench is probably a lot easier to use than sqlplus. Also, for basic queries, I don't think you'll have much trouble switching from Oracle SQL to MySQL. They're pretty similar, in my opinion.

sqlplus is quite an ancient piece of SW ... It lacks many modern CLI environment features just to name command history. It's usability is far behind similar tools for MySQL/MariaDB (mysql/mariadb) and PostgreSQL (psql).

For working with Oracle DB one can use other tools from Oracle such as SQLDeveloper or SQLCLI. SQLDeveloper is an IDE-kind of program.

SQLcl a command line tool wrtten in Java and is to a high degree compatible to the command set of sqlplus. However, it supports many additional features such as history, better output formatting etc.

[Tim Holloway]

Actually, TOAD is the weapon of choice we used for Oracle.

The only GUI tool I use for MySQL is SchemaSpy, which can turn any JDBC-compliant database (MySQL, Oracle, whatever) into a website map of the database schema. I do strictly CLI for MySQL administration. My production servers don't have windowing systems installed and I've never felt the need for a GUI desktop client.

[Raphaelle Senger]

Given your experience, you'll pick up the basics of MySQL quickly. The main task will be getting comfortable with MySQL Workbench and adjusting to MySQL’s simpler feature set. Overall, you should find yourself productive in your new role without too much difficulty.