MySQL 8 and MariaDB 10.5 are the latest major MySQL and MariaDB versions. While MariaDB started by being a slightly different MySQL variant, it has since grown into a very different database platform which grows more different with each release.

In this video, we will look into the differences between MySQL and MariaDB in core areas such as SQL features, query optimization, replication, storage engines, and security. We will also discuss the unique features and capabilities.

MySQL: MariaDB began as a MySQL fork, and has since continued to develop, adding much functionality not available in MySQL. This includes:

In addition to the standard MyISAM, BLACKHOLE, CSV, MEMORY, ARCHIVE, and MERGE storage engines, the following are also included with MariaDB:

• ColumnStore, a column oriented storage engine optimized for Data warehousing.
• MyRocks, a storage engine with great compression, in 10.2
• Aria, MyISAM replacement with better caching.
• OQGRAPH — new in 5.2
• SphinxSE — new in 5.2
• CONNECT for accessing multiple, diverse formats, including NoSQL data
• SEQUENCE for creating virtual, ephemeral tables of ascending or descending sequences automatically when you need them
• Spider supporting partitioning and xa transactions

• Galera Cluster is a standard part of the server.
• Temporal data tables in the form of:
  • System-versioned tables (allow you to query and operate on historic data).
  • Application-time periods (allow you to query and operate on a temporal range of data), including the WITHOUT OVERLAPS clause added in 10.5.
  • Bitemporal tables (which combine both system-versioning and application-time periods).
• DML-only flashback, allowing instances, databases or tables to be rolled back to an old snapshot.
• Oracle compatibility mode (see also Migrating from Oracle)
• Sequences
• Invisible Columns
• Table Value Constructors
• Dynamic Columns support
• Semi-sync plugin merged into the server
• INTERSECT/INTERSECT ALL and EXCEPT/EXCEPT ALL
• OR REPLACE syntax for CREATE statements, such as CREATE OR REPLACE TABLE, CREATE OR REPLACE DATABASE, etc
• DELETE ... RETURNING
• INET6 data type for storing IPv6 addresses.
• SUPER privileges made more granular.
• PROXY protocol support
• Number of supported decimals in DECIMAL has increased from 30 to 38
• Added catchall for list partitions
• Oracle-style EXECUTE IMMEDIATE statement
• Lots of new JSON functions
• Microsecond Precision in Processlist
• Table Elimination
• Virtual Columns
• Extended User Statistics
• KILL all queries for a user
• Storage-engine-specific CREATE TABLE
• MariaDB supports more collations than MySQL, including NO PAD collations.
• FLUSH SSL command to reload SSL certificates without server restart.
• IF NOT EXISTS clause added to INSTALL PLUGIN and IF EXISTS clause added to UNINSTALL PLUGIN and UNINSTALL SONAME
• Enhancements to INFORMATION SCHEMA.PLUGINS table
• Group commit for the binary log. This makes replication notably faster!
• The binary log in MariaDB can be compressed.
• BACKUP STAGE allows one to implement very efficient backups with minimal locking.
• Progress reporting for ALTER TABLE and LOAD DATA INFILE
• SHOW EXPLAIN gives the EXPLAIN plan for a query running in another thread.
• PCRE Regular Expressions (including REGEXP_REPLACE())
• HandlerSocket and faster HANDLER calls

See this page for more information.

You can download MariaDB Server from our website. You can also read more about how to use MariaDB Server from one of the resources below:

• Introduction to relational databases
• A 10-minute MariaDB primer
• List of SQL statements
• Useful MariaDB queries

The primary place for MariaDB specific documentation is the MariaDB Knowledge Base.

You may also be interested in one of the following topics:

• Migrating to MariaDB from MySQL
• Upgrading from MySQL to MariaDB
• MariaDB versus MySQL: Compatibility
• MySQL vs MariaDB: Performance
• Installing MariaDB Alongside MySQL

First, check that the bug isn't already filed in the MariaDB bugs database. or the MySQL bugs database. For the MariaDB bugs database, use JIRA search to check if a report you are going to submit already exists.

MariaDB Server has historically relied on the community for feedback and to supplement the in-house QA process. The easiest way to contribute to MariaDB Server is to try out our development releases. Offer us feedback as soon as possible so we can spot bugs early and improve quickly. Our roadmap and bugs database is hosted at jira.mariadb.org. All bug reports get attention and help keep MariaDB Server a robust, reliable and performant database. Feature requests are also welcome.

• File a bug or feature request
• Enable the Feedback Plugin

MariaDB Server and related tools are tested thoroughly within our buildbot infrastructure. A complete testing system is necessary for a project to continue.
buildbot.mariadb.org has made it easy to contribute computing resources to our system.

• Contribute computing resources to buildbot

How do users use MariaDB Server? What are their experiences and thoughts? You can find out more by checking out our previous online conferences: Fest2020 and MiniFest2020.

MariaDB is a drop-in replacement for MySQL. Initial migration is simple: start MariaDB over the old MySQL datadir.

Later your application may notice that some features work differently than with MySQL. These are MariaDB improvements, so this is good and, likely the reason you migrated.

In this session,the focus will be on the differences affecting application performance and behavior. In particular, features sharing the same name, but working differently.