Pro:

* The most widely-used RDBMS in Python, so lots of developer support.
* One of the easiest SQL languages to understand.
* Can do date calculations and pattern searches at the C level (faster than doing it in Python).  This also applies to most other RDBMSs.
* Many books and `MySQL third party tools`_ are available. -- ChuckEsterbrook_ - 31 Dec 2001
* High availability among web host providers. -- ChuckEsterbrook_ - 31 Dec 2001
* It's OpenSource. -- ChuckEsterbrook_ - 31 Dec 2001

Con:

* MySQL was designed for write occasionally, read quickly, rather than for intense write-frequently situations.
* Transactions were added recently and are available only with a non-default data storage type.
* MySQL is easier to crash under high load than PostgreSQL or Oracle.

-- MikeOrr_ - 31 Dec 2001