Larry has a history. That history is an obsession with beating IBM to death. Oracle produced the first relational database, based on Dr. Codd's work, before IBM. The software acquisition binge has been to further that end. So is the Sun acquisition, but not to get java. java is already theirs, to the extent they want it
The late brilliant Jim Grey version is different and I have to take that. Sun's Java is JDK that is like C# with Ecma that is not related in most cases with vendor extensions because Oracle through BEA and other purchases may actually be dealing with many unrelated Java versions. I prepared for Sun SCJP a while back before taking the C# exams.
MySql is not a useful steppingstone to Oracle. Postgres is (was and will be, too). Oracle is an MVCC database, while MySql and DB2 are traditional lockers. Unless InnoDB is written to MVCC semantics (how much work that requires, I don't know), MySql isn't an entry level Oracle. It's just another piece that's come along for the ride.
Per the link below both INNODB and the new Sun developed Falcon are MVCC. If Oracle wants to beat IBM then Oracle needs to find out why IBM is always selling hardware divisions and aggressively adding software assets like separate Dimension modeling BI team in Cognos and Prediction modeling team in SSPS.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiversion_concurrency_control
😉
Kind regards,
Gift Peddie