The at-large open-source community of MySQL users is panicking over Oracle's second buy of the database's two transactional storage engines, Berkeley DB, although enterprise users are far more sanguine.

"God*it"—that's a polite rendering of the very first public reaction of the MySQL community to Oracle's purchase of both of the open-source database's crucial transactional back-end engines, InnoDB in October and Berkeley DB from Sleepycat Software on Feb. 14.

The fear is based on the vision of Oracle forcing its tiny competitor out of business, thus leaving the MySQL user community in the lurch, forced to fork the source code.  "The reason MySQL DB users are concerned, even though the source is GPL, is because MySQL DB is heavily dependent on MySQL AB. If MySQL is forced out by Oracle, what's left, aside from some source code?" one Slashdot poster asked.

"First they bought Innobase, giving them the ability to cut MySQL's transaction [capabilities] off, then they buy another open-source-friendly DBMS which has transaction capability," another Slashdot reader posted.

"Now, if you were the largest commercial DBMS vendor in the world and you were worried about the OSS people moving into your space, what would you buy in order to stop them cold? Me? I'd keep them out of atomic transaction space."

At any rate, MySQL's April user conference is fast approaching—a time when the company has promised a full rollout of its product roadmap and storage engine architectures.

Until then, MySQL is sticking by the premise that trying to kill open-source products by buying companies that make open-source products is like trying to kill a dolphin by drinking the ocean.