MySQL as a storage backend

[luxlogica]

It would be incredibly helpful if Mavo could use MySQL as a storage backend. For better or worse, SQL databases are well-entrenched among most web hosting services - and MySQL-compatible databases are by far the most popular, and readily available everywhere.

It would be great for Mavo to support NoSQL databases like Mongo, Couch, Arango, etc. These databases, however, require quite a bit of technical knowledge, and don't come pre-bundled and pre-configured with any easy-setup hosting services. MySQL is still by far the most readily-available db out there, which in most cases requires the least amount of installation+configuration. Anyone on a $1/month shared host setup is likely to have access to a MySQL database, without having to instal anything on their own. IMHO, if a new Mavo user sees that they are able to use MySQL as a storage backend, they might be more inclined to try that, even in preference to Github or Dropbox.

Lastly, because of its age, there are a number of existing and well-tested high-level ORMs that interface with MySQL (in various languages) and can help automate database forge functions (creating and managing tables, etc.). Some of these libraries can give MySQL many of the advantages - and some of the flexibility - of NoSQL databases. For example, RedBeanPHP is a super-high-level ORM that can create and manipulate db structures based on your code, so you don't have to worry about defining your schema at all.