Michael Widenius
Encyclopedia
Ulf Michael Widenius born 3 March 1962, in Helsinki
, Finland
, is the main author of the original version of the open-source MySQL
database and a founding member of the MySQL AB
company.
After studying at (although not graduating from) the Helsinki University of Technology
, Widenius started working for Tapio Laakso Oy
in 1981. In 1985 he founded TCX DataKonsult AB
(a Swedish data warehousing
company) with Allan Larsson.
In 1995 he began writing the first version of the MySQL database with David Axmark
, released in 1996. He is the co-author of the MySQL Reference Manual, published by O'Reilly
in June 2002; and in 2003 he was awarded the Finnish Software Entrepreneur of The Year prize.
Until MySQL AB's sale to Sun Microsystems in January 2008, he was the chief technical officer
of MySQL AB and still one of the primary forces behind the ongoing development of MySQL. Due to selling MySQL to Sun, Widenius earned about 16.6 million € in capital gain
s in 2008 (16.8 million € total income), making the top 10 of highest earners in Finland that year.
On 5 February 2009, he announced that he was leaving Sun in order to create his own company.
He lives in Helsinki with his second wife Anna and daughter Maria, and has a daughter My (after whom MySQL is named, according to "History of MySQL") and a son Max (giving the name for MaxDB
) from his first marriage. According to the MySQL documentation's history, it is unclear and a mystery for David Axmark
where the "My" prefix originated.
Monty is currently working on a branch of the MySQL code base with the Aria storage engine. The product is known affectionately as MariaDB
, named after his youngest daughter. MariaDB is a product of Monty Program AB (website)
On 12 December 2009, Monty asked MySQL customers to lobby the EC with regards to the Oracle acquisition of Sun, citing concerns about potential Oracle control of MySQL, this resulted in an online petition campaign called "Help MySQL".
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, is the main author of the original version of the open-source MySQL
MySQL
MySQL officially, but also commonly "My Sequel") is a relational database management system that runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases. It is named after developer Michael Widenius' daughter, My...
database and a founding member of the MySQL AB
MySQL AB
MySQL AB was a software company. MySQL AB is the creator of MySQL, a relational database management system, as well as related products such as MySQL Cluster...
company.
After studying at (although not graduating from) the Helsinki University of Technology
Helsinki University of Technology
Aalto University School of Science and Technology , was the temporary name for Helsinki University of Technology during the process of forming the Aalto University...
, Widenius started working for Tapio Laakso Oy
Osakeyhtiö
Osakeyhtiö, literally a "stock company", is the Finnish equivalent of a limited company or Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung . It is abbreviated to Oy and is used either before or after the company's name, sometimes with the addition of the Finland-Swedish equivalent Ab...
in 1981. In 1985 he founded TCX DataKonsult AB
Aktiebolag
Aktiebolag is the Swedish term for "limited company" or "corporation". When used in company names, it is abbreviated "AB" or "Ab"...
(a Swedish data warehousing
Data warehouse
In computing, a data warehouse is a database used for reporting and analysis. The data stored in the warehouse is uploaded from the operational systems. The data may pass through an operational data store for additional operations before it is used in the DW for reporting.A data warehouse...
company) with Allan Larsson.
In 1995 he began writing the first version of the MySQL database with David Axmark
David Axmark
David Axmark is one of the founders of MySQL AB and a developer of the free database server, MySQL. He has been involved with MySQL development from its beginning along with the fellow co-founder Michael Widenius....
, released in 1996. He is the co-author of the MySQL Reference Manual, published by O'Reilly
O'Reilly Media
O'Reilly Media is an American media company established by Tim O'Reilly that publishes books and Web sites and produces conferences on computer technology topics...
in June 2002; and in 2003 he was awarded the Finnish Software Entrepreneur of The Year prize.
Until MySQL AB's sale to Sun Microsystems in January 2008, he was the chief technical officer
Chief technical officer
A chief technology officer is an executive-level position in a company or other entity whose occupant is focused on scientific and technological issues within an organization....
of MySQL AB and still one of the primary forces behind the ongoing development of MySQL. Due to selling MySQL to Sun, Widenius earned about 16.6 million € in capital gain
Capital gain
A capital gain is a profit that results from investments into a capital asset, such as stocks, bonds or real estate, which exceeds the purchase price. It is the difference between a higher selling price and a lower purchase price, resulting in a financial gain for the investor...
s in 2008 (16.8 million € total income), making the top 10 of highest earners in Finland that year.
On 5 February 2009, he announced that he was leaving Sun in order to create his own company.
He lives in Helsinki with his second wife Anna and daughter Maria, and has a daughter My (after whom MySQL is named, according to "History of MySQL") and a son Max (giving the name for MaxDB
MaxDB
MaxDB is an ANSI SQL-92 compliant relational database management system from SAP AG, which was delivered also by MySQL AB from 2003 to 2007. MaxDB is targeted for large SAP environments e.g. mySAP Business Suite and other applications that require enterprise-level database functionality...
) from his first marriage. According to the MySQL documentation's history, it is unclear and a mystery for David Axmark
David Axmark
David Axmark is one of the founders of MySQL AB and a developer of the free database server, MySQL. He has been involved with MySQL development from its beginning along with the fellow co-founder Michael Widenius....
where the "My" prefix originated.
Monty is currently working on a branch of the MySQL code base with the Aria storage engine. The product is known affectionately as MariaDB
MariaDB
MariaDB is a community-developed branch of the MySQL database, the impetus being the community maintenance of its free status under GPL, as opposed to any uncertainty of MySQL license status under its current ownership by Oracle....
, named after his youngest daughter. MariaDB is a product of Monty Program AB (website)
On 12 December 2009, Monty asked MySQL customers to lobby the EC with regards to the Oracle acquisition of Sun, citing concerns about potential Oracle control of MySQL, this resulted in an online petition campaign called "Help MySQL".