You might have heard that Oracle made the decision not to support MySQL for IBM i any longer. This is certainly understandable. However, there are still users who want to continue running IBM i and MySQL.
That’s why we’re happy to announce that we have assisted Zend to introduce Zend DBi as a drop-in replacement for MySQL on the IBM i platform. Zend approached us to say that they want to ensure there’s a way forward for IBM i users, and asked if we’d help them. We’re delighted to do so.
The result is Zend DBi. It is basically a renamed build of MySQL for IBM i. It’s a 100% compatible drop-in replacement. Everything works on Zend DBi just as it works on MySQL, with no need to rewrite applications, management scripts, or anything else. There is no difference in query syntax, client-server protocol, or data storage on disk. Anything that runs on MySQL will run identically on Zend DBi with no modification, and vice versa.
In addition, Zend DBi will remain compatible with MySQL in the future, so it is a no-lock-in solution. If you want to leave the IBM i platform and switch to Oracle’s MySQL on another platform, it will work seamlessly.
Why is Percona involved? Because providing quality server builds is a substantial engineering effort that requires a lot of expertise to do right, and Percona has that expertise, as we’ve proven by providing our own Percona Server variant of the MySQL server. We have a history of improving the MySQL server and finding and solving bugs in it — we’ve even found and solved bugs on the IBM i platform.
We think that Zend DBi will be a great service to IBM i MySQL users who want to remain on their chosen platform. We’re happy that Zend took this initiative, and even happier that we can play a role.
Zend DBi is available under GPL license from Zend website.
