Because MySQL's source code is freely available, you're free to modify it, provided that you abide by the terms of its respective licenses. Realizing that developers might wish to create new storage engines, MySQL offers the EXAMPLE storage engine as a basic template for understanding how these engines are created. To learn more about it, see the following tutorial on the MySQL Web site: http://dev.mysql.com/tech-resources/articles/creating-new-storage-engine.html.

Example Engine Related FAQs