The next version of MySQL, version 5.6, will be geared towards better performance



From PCWorld:

With work under way to build the next version of the MySQL relational database software, Oracle is focusing much of its efforts on improving the software's performance and replication capabilities, according to an Oracle executive overseeing the software's development.

The company's developers are making notable improvements to the core InnoDB storage engine, which should make the database system more responsive. Also, the ability to replicate a database to another location, always useful for backup and disaster recovery, is being enhanced in a number of ways, said Tomas Ulin, Oracle's MySQL vice president of engineering.

  Oracle Starts Work on MySQL 5.6