How different are the different versions of SQL out there?

[Long_Live_Ed_McMahon]

I've used Microsoft SQL a fair amount and I was wondering how difficult it is to switch to the IBM, Oracle, or open source version of SQL. How different is the syntax?

[frank]

Syntax is not so different, but I usually find myself Googling for cheatsheets when I switch from one platform to another.

We used to run on MS SQL, and since then they have switched completely to MySQL due to cost considerations.

However, large enterprises still favor SQL Server over MySQL.
The most obvious difference between the two products is in philosophy. SQL server is essentially a proprietary storage engine. Once you purchase the product, you are only limited to the Sybase-derived engine. By contrast, MySQL is an open storage engine offering multiple choices: InnoDb, BerkleyDB, MyISAM and Heap amongst other supported engines.

The second marked difference between the two database systems is in the technical features and specifications implemented. SQL Server is a fully-fledged database system developed specifically for large enterprise databases. All advanced features of a relational database are fully implemented. MySQL, on the other hand, has only come out of edge in the “relational” front, with recent support for foreign keys.

The latest release of MySQL, the 5.X offering, has rounded up on features that lagged commercial equivalents such as SQL Server. There is now full support for cursors, complete views and stored procedures according to the SQL 2003 syntax. Other features that were a major differentiator between MySQL and SQL Server are now part of the 5.X release. Triggers, stored procedures and foreign keys are fully implemented.