MySQL 5 is out. This stable release is now recommended for production use, so if your installation of MySQL 4.1 is getting dusty (or worse yet, if you’re still on 4.0), now might be the time to look at updating your installation.
This release of MySQL effectively brings it to feature parity with enterprise databases like MS SQL Server and Oracle, with many new, long-awaited features:
- Stored Procedures and SQL Functions
- Embed a portion of your application’s business logic directly into your database to improve performance of frequently-needed data manipulaton operations.
- Triggers
- Further offload business logic from your application. Respond to changes in your database by executing custom operations in response to events like row insertions, deletions, updates.
- Views
- Define particular table columns or joins that are accessible to certain users without granting them full access to sensitive data in the relevant tables.
- Cursors
- The database can keep track of your application’s current position in a large result set, so that you don’t need to cache such large result sets in your application.
- Information Schema
- Access information about your database tables through the virtual
information_schemadatabase. - XA Distributed Transactions
- Perform transactions (multi-step operations that must succeed completely or not happen at all) across multiple database servers, or even non-database systems.
- SQL Mode
- Switch modes on-the-fly to request stricter or more standards-compliant database behaviour (e.g. raise errors insteads of warnings for tables involved in transactions).
- New Federated and Archive Storage Engines
- The new Federated storage engine lets you access tables actually stored in other database servers as if they were stored locally. The Archive storage engine is good for storing large quantities of infrequently-accessed data without indexes with greatly reduced overhead.
Additionally, a number of new tools are available for managing MySQL servers and importing data and related structures from competing database servers.
Grab MySQL 5.0 now, or head over to the MySQL AB Articles index to read up on some of the new features.
October 25th, 2005 at 12:02 am
Many hosting providers are still on MySQL 4.0. Worst, there’s still servers on MySQL3.
I wish this new release will give them the kick they needed to update their versions. I can’t wait to be able to use those new features with MySQL5.
October 25th, 2005 at 3:39 am
I thought a majority of hosts were still stuck back in the MySQL 3 days….
Anyways… my next project will be PHP/FI since no one bothers to upgrade ;)
October 25th, 2005 at 4:03 am
Its good that MySQL5 has been released with a stable version..now if only i could find a host which would support MySQL 5…
Most of the hosts refuse to look further than 4.1 :-(
October 25th, 2005 at 7:27 am
I like your articles, Kevin, and respect your work. I’ve seen several postings from bloggers on sitepoint.com not check their editing too closely. It’s small thing but like a resume, my expectations are much higher. Specifically:
Triggers
“Furter” offload business…
I think it Furter => Further
October 25th, 2005 at 8:18 am
[…] SitePoint Blogs » MySQL 5.0 stable release […]
October 25th, 2005 at 8:38 am
I think if you are going to nitpick on someone’s failure to proofread you should at least put in the effort yourself, else risk looking like a hypocrite
October 25th, 2005 at 8:43 am
so are there any tutorials on how we can take advantage of these new features/functions with php (and any other language i guess) yet?
October 25th, 2005 at 8:56 am
You are absolutely right! Although I have not high expectations of my own writing, thanks for pointing that out. :-)
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)
October 25th, 2005 at 10:33 am
* install all his production server with mysql5 *
have been waiting so log before it was becoming stable :D
October 25th, 2005 at 11:48 am
MySQL5 Documentation
There are also a number of excellent articles that were published some time ago on Stored Procedures, Triggers, Archive Engine, Views etc here…
Also a PDF of the new features can be found here as well.
October 25th, 2005 at 12:18 pm
This is great, but what happens when InnoDB’s contract ends with MySQL. For those of you who haven’t heard, Oracle bought InnoDB on Oct 7th, or around there.
As far as I know InnoDB is the only storage engine used in MySQL that allows transactions, or am I wrong here?
If you were Oracle would you negotiate a contract with MySQL that would helped them out? With this realease MySQL is starting to play on the same stage as Oracle, why would they help them?
I’m worried if I use transactions in my apps am I going to have to refactor my code in the next year when the contract is over? Or will I have to start to pay a license fee if I want to use InnoDB?
What me worry?
October 25th, 2005 at 12:48 pm
As usual, just like with PHP5, hosts will take at least a year before we start to see a move to update. I’ll carry on developing for MySQL4 for now :)
October 25th, 2005 at 1:18 pm
my host still uses 3.23. I should probably find another host, huh?
October 25th, 2005 at 5:43 pm
Well there is the small matter of the $295 or so for the new version…. which may or may not be significant to hosts….
October 26th, 2005 at 1:17 am
yes, i read one of the articles on stored procedures (linked to from here i think), but are there any docs on how to use stored procedures in mysql5 with php (if at all) yet?
i haven’t seen any
i have seen the way that it needs to be done with postgresql on php.net, not sure if that will work with mysql5 though
October 26th, 2005 at 4:46 am
Finally a good news about MySQL! Going to download now…
October 26th, 2005 at 11:54 am
Ras - try this link:
http://mysql.gilfster.com/page.php?parent_id=4&page_id=4.0.3
October 26th, 2005 at 5:12 pm
Responsible hosts will do a lot of testing before they turn their customers loose on it. Mine is planning to do just that, and for that I’m grateful.
October 27th, 2005 at 3:57 pm
3.2x is still widely used because it is fast, rock solid, stable, works with all version of PHP, etc.. etc.. etc… Version 4.1 is great - but still does not have the reputation the 3 versions have.
Many hosting company’s will not make the switch because version 5 is too advanced for the basic user, and it costs! The joy of MySQL was always it’s simplicity and it’s speed. Version makes pushes it into a “less innocent” stage of the product.
NOW - for those of us who build and use our own servers - or need the power of the extra features - the release of VER 5 is GREAT NEWS!!! To have the extra features, at a very humble cost is welcome in my eyes.
With all that said - I’m sticking on my VER 4.1 as I never trust a .0 version of anything - LOL!
October 27th, 2005 at 10:17 pm
Is that a cloud on Mysql5 that Oracle bought InnoDB?
Will Mysql buy InnoDB engine in the future?
October 30th, 2005 at 10:39 am
Hah! I have MySQL 5 Alpha, phpBB2 refuses to install. Although it’s not a MySQL fault ;) …
November 7th, 2005 at 6:15 am
wy use alfa if there is a stable?