MySQL 5.0 represents a huge leap forward for the world's most popular open source database management system. While MySQL has been the database of choice for managing high-volume web sites and embedded database applications for years, version 5.0 provides exceptional new functionality that paves the way for larger adoption at the enterprise level. Advancements in the areas of application development, transactional processing, data integrity, and manageability put the MySQL database server on par with proprietary database vendors whose costs are many times more.