MySQL vs SQLite

Difference Between MySQL and SQLite

MySQL is one of the most popular and most preferred open-source relational database management systems. It is widely being used in many small and large scale industrial applications and capable of handling a large volume of data. MySQL supports the standard Structured Query Language (SQL). It is written in C and C++ language and developed by Michael Widenius and David Axmark in the year 1994. currently, Oracle Corporation is developing, distributing and supporting the MySQL application.

SQLite is a library written in C language that implements a serverless, configuration less and transaction SQL database. Unlike the other SQL database engines, it does not have a separate server. It makes use of an ordinary disk file for its read and writes operation. The SQLite database file is cross-platform and is easily copied between the 32 bit and 64 bit OS systems.

Head to Head Comparison between MySQL and SQLite (Infographics)

Below are the top 14 differences between MySQL vs SQLite

Key Differences of MySQL and SQLite

MySQL database server and SQLite have many things in common but there are some key differences that a programmer should know well in advance before making a choice of the database. Let’s have a look at the main key differences between MySQLvs SQLite.

1. Application Programming Interface

As you know to connect your application with the database you need some kind of connector or API which makes the connection setup very easy. MySQL has its own API whereas SQLite does not offer any. Though both the database systems are the same access methods namely JDBC, ADO.NET and ODBC.

2. Authentication and Security

Most of the applications dealt with Personally Identifiable Information data that needs utmost security and limited access. A database should have some sort of authentication to avoid easy access to the data by an unauthorized person. MySQL offers built-in security features like SSH to authenticate its Users, also different roles can be assigned to a user to grant limited privileges. Unfortunately, SQLite lacks all these features, in fact, SQLite does not have any mechanism to authenticate the Users. Any person can get access to the database files.

3. Database as a Service

With the advent of cloud services like Azure, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud, many companies are looking for a solution or a product can be Utilized as a service as well for its client. MySQL can be used as a service when hosted on a cloud whereas SQLite does not support this.

4. Multi-User Connection

There is often a requirement where multiple developers need to work on the same database simultaneously, MySQL is specially designed to cater to this need and can handle concurrent Users. Unfortunately, SQLite does not have any provision of User Management, so at a time one User can access the database.

5. Scalability

Scalability is indeed the most important factor any developer would check for in the database. Where MySQL is highly scalable and capable of handling a large volume of data SQLite fails to perform at the same level. SQLite performance tends to degrade with the increase in the volume of data as it writes the data directly in a file that occupies a lot of memory.

Comparison Table between MySQL and SQLite

Below are the topmost comparison between MySQL vs SQLite:

MySQL	SQLite
MySQL is developed in C and C++ languages.	SQLite is entirely developed in C language.
MySQL requires a database server to interact with the client over the network.	SQLite is a serverless embedded database that runs as part of the application and can not connect with any other application over the network.
MySQL is an open-source and managed by Oracle.	SQLite is not only open source but the code also available in the public domain for commercial and personal usage.
MySQL server requires around 600 Mb of space for its functioning.	SQLite is a very lightweight library of around 250 kb in size.
MySQL supports almost all the data types like TINYINT, SMALLINT, MEDIUMINT, INT, BIGINT, FLOAT, DOUBLE, DOUBLE PRECISION, REAL, DECIMAL, NUMERIC, DATE, DATETIME, TIMESTAMP, YEAR, CHAR, VARCHAR, TINYBLOB, TINYTEXT, BLOB, TEXT, MEDIUMBLOB, MEDIUMTEXT, LONGBLOB, LONGTEXT, ENUM, SET etc.	SQLite supports only BLOB, NULL, INTEGER, TEXT, REAL.
Portability of data in MySQL is a tedious job as you first need to export it as a file and then move it to some other system. Also, it is time-consuming because of its size.	SQLite directly writes the data in a file and can move pretty easily.
MySQL can handle multiple simultaneous connections.	SQLite can cater only to one connection at a time.
In MySQL, you can create multiple users with different levels of permissions and roles.	SQLite does not support User Management.
It supports XML format as well.	It does not support XML format.
MySQL is highly scalable and can handle a large volume of data.	SQLite is ideal for a small set of data, its performance degrades with the increase in the data volume as it consumes a lot of memory.
MySQL offers and supports many authentication methods to protect unauthorized access to the database. It includes basic user-name and password protections to advanced SSH authentication.	SQLite does not have any inbuilt authentication technique and the database files can be accessed by anyone. Also, they can read and update the data as well.
Setting up the MySQL server requires many server configurations.	SQLite does not need any configuration and getting it up and running is very easy as compare to MySQL server.
MySQL is usually used for web applications and desktop applications which requires a lot of calculations and frequent transactions.	SQLite is usually used for mobile applications where it is primarily used to retrieve certain predefined information.
MySQL is supported and maintained by the Oracle Corporation.	An international team of developers who work full time on SQLite is supporting the application. They are responsible for the bug fixes and the enhancements.

Conclusion

Now that we have reached the end of the article let’s wrap up and summarize the key taken away from this discussion. Choose MySQL for web applications where security is a serious concern and the volume of data is very large. Choose SQLite for relatively smaller applications or mobile applications which do not require any security features and the volume of data is not too large.

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