In the previous article, we wrote, compiled, and tested our first custom data type for MariaDB using the Type_handler framework.

But currently, aside from allowing the use of its new name (MONEY) and listing it in the metadata, our new data type behaves exactly like a DOUBLE, the class it inherits from.

In this article, we will extend our data type just a bit by transforming the result into a VARCHAR and adding a currency sign to it: the dollar sign ($).

This is the expected result:

MariaDB [test]insert into t1 (amount) values (41578.4); …

Continue reading “Adding a New Data Type to MariaDB with Type_handler – Part 3”

After having discovered the Type_hander framework and learned how to build MariaDB Server from source, it’s time to code our first data type!

We will create a MariaDB plugin that registers a new MONEY type and instantiates a custom field object.

Our component won’t be exciting, but we want to understand how to use the framework and test it.

We want to prove that

the plugin loads,
the server sees the type hander,
a MONEY column can create a Field_money object.

Everything else comes later.

…

Continue reading “Adding a New Data Type to MariaDB with Type_handler – Part 2”

Over the past month, one question has been coming up with increasing frequency:

What is the MySQL / MariaDB ecosystem?

In most discussions, the answer tends to focus on contributors to the source code: engineers, committers, and core developers shaping the database itself. That perspective is both valid and essential.

But it is only part of the picture.

Over the past few months, we have been looking at the ecosystem from a different angle:

What is being built around MariaDB?
Where is it being used?

…

Continue reading “From Ecosystem to Architecture: Expanding How We Look at MariaDB”

This is the first part of the series about how to add a new data type to MariaDB using the Type_handler framework. A preliminary article has already been published to start the series; it covers how to set up your development environment and compile MariaDB Server: Adding a New Data Type to MariaDB with Type_handler – Part 0.

Understand Type_handler Before Writing Code

When you add a new type to MariaDB, you are not only adding a new SQL keyword. Historically, that kind of work required invasive changes across the parser, optimizer, protocol, replication, and type-conversion mechanisms.

…

Continue reading “Adding a New Data Type to MariaDB with Type_handler – Part 1”

Welcome to this new series about extending MariaDB. This series covers the addition of a new data type using the Type_handler.

The goal of the entire series is to create a new plugin data type MONEY to store and display amounts with currency.

Something like:

MariaDB [test]> select * from t1;
+—-+————-+
| id | amount |
+—-+————-+
| 1 | $2,000.00 |
| 2 | $100,000.56 |
+—-+————-+
2 rows in set (0.002 sec)

Of course, the ultimate goal is to teach how to add data types in MariaDB, and we expect to see how creative our community developers are!

…

Continue reading “Adding a New Data Type to MariaDB with Type_handler – Part 0”

Earlier this month, I had a half-hour chat with Kellyn Gorman, a Database and AI Advocate and Engineer at Redgate. The UK software company is known for database DevOps and database management tools most databases – and since 2024 as the owner of DB-Engines popularity Ranking of database management systems.

The chat was an intellectual pleasure, to say the least. Kellyn is outstandingly well informed on databases, with a background starting in Oracle, spanning most databases as a DBA and industry analyst, and by now using MariaDB for about fifteen years, almost since its inception.

…

Continue reading “Database Trends: What is changing in the database world (besides AI)”

The MariaDB Foundation is pleased to welcome Kurt Daniel, five-time CEO and current CEO of Virtuozzo, to its Board—bringing in a perspective shaped at the very heart of the database industry.

Kurt’s career spans leadership roles at MongoDB and Microsoft SQL Server, where he helped drive both strategy and market expansion at scale. At MongoDB, he was part of the journey that turned an emerging open source project into a category-defining company. At Microsoft, he built and led a product management team for a database portfolio generating over $1.5 billion in revenue.

…

Continue reading “Expanding board of directors – Kurt Daniel, CEO at Virtuozzo”

We recently asked the community a simple but important question:

What is the main source of the MariaDB Server you use?

The answers provide a very interesting snapshot of how MariaDB is consumed in the real world today—and, perhaps more importantly, how different installation methods reflect different use cases and priorities.

We got 2,373 replies on the poll!

Let’s take a closer look and try to understand these results.