Despite disarming that threat, Mickos said customers are still seeking alternatives to InnoDB. Mickos declined to release details about MySQL's own in-development storage engine, Falcon, apart from saying it will enter public beta testing later this summer. Falcon is designed 'to excel for very modern, some call Web 2.0, types of applications.'

The conference, co-organized by O'Reilly Media, is expected to draw 1,500 attendees. MySQL will also preview new server functionality in MySQL 5.1, now in beta testing, and MySQL Workbench, an upcoming graphical database design tool.

Confirming that he had recently turned down a buyout offer from Oracle, Mickos said he is amused by the current mania among vendors with acquiring stacks of open-source software, as exemplified by Linux vendor Red Hat Inc.'s recent purchase of JBoss Inc. and Oracle's buying spree in the open-source space. He said the frenzy is at least partly being whipped up by investment bankers looking for business.

'Customers definitely want to concentrate their buying and have 'one throat to choke' for support, but they don't necessarily want monolithic stacks with no moving parts,' he said.

Regarding his competitors, Mickos said that free 'express' editions offered by the large database vendors 'don't give customers any value.... Their only purpose is to eventually force customers to switch to a more expensive database.'