What is the difference between MySQL, SQLite and other SQL servers?

Question

I was digging around in my server and I started to wonder what the difference is between MySQL and SQLite and other SQL servers. If anyone can make this clearer, could you also explain if they have pros and cons for each one?

Solution

MySQL is an Oracle database. Marketed as cost effective, as much as anything else. Competitors include Microsoft SQL Server.

SQLite is not as much of a SQL server. It is really just a database system. The databases can be embedded in applications, or used locally with no additional "server" resources as its accessed more like a text file would be accessed than a server. A closer product would be Microsoft SQL CE (Compact Edition).

Most of the pros and cons in my opinion are organization based. If the company is heavily into the Microsoft stack, Microsoft SQL makes sense. If the organization is very much into the Linux / Oracle stack, then MySQL or Oracle SQL makes sense. If the database is just to get easily accessed information from SQL statements then something like SQLite is a great choice.

What defines "SQL" is really the language. Each of these products uses very similar syntax to get data in and out of the database. How they actually work however, can be very different.