PDO and MariaDB

Question

I've been using PDO in PHP for a while now utilizing MySQL.

However, recent developments have made me think that MySQL will start fading out in replacement of MariaDB especially since MariaDB:

Consider themselves many developer years ahead of MySQL without putting new developments into paid areas (clustering for example).
The majority of the main MySQL developers moved to MariaDB after Oracle took over.
Is becoming the default database to replace MySQL on various Linux distributions.
Is a drop in replacement of MySQL and large companies are starting to adopt MariaDB such as Wikipedia (Read the blog post here).

So my question is, since MariaDB doesn't appear to be listed in the PDO drivers and seeing as MariaDB is designed to be a "drop in replacement" and could potentially phase out MySQL in the future.

Can I use the MySQL PDO driver with a MariaDB database, at least until an official MariaDB driver becomes available?

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MariaDB is a "drop-in replacement" for MySQL. That means that PHP thinks it's talking to MySQL, but really it's talking to MariaDB. Just install MariaDB, setup PDO to use MySQL, and it'll work :-) — gen_Eric, Apr 24 '13 at 14:47
In theory I'm assuming it "should" as well but i'm asking here for a definite yes or not and not a "should do" and maybe expand the answer by including any issues/gotchas that may have appeared in practice when you did it yourself. — HenchHacker, Apr 24 '13 at 15:08

Máté Gelei · Accepted Answer · 2013-04-24T15:01:41.687

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MariaDB and MySQL are ~~100%~~ 99% compatible. This includes connector compatibility.

edit: up to the point that MariaDB tools are shipped as MySQL tools (e.g. mysqldump), and data files are binary compatible, too

edited Apr 24 '13 at 15:01

answered Apr 24 '13 at 14:47

Máté Gelei

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MariaDB and MySQL are [*almost* 100% compatible](https://kb.askmonty.org/en/mariadb-vs-mysql-compatibility/). – Marcel Korpel Apr 24 '13 at 14:52
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True, and as new features are added to MariaDB, the gap will be wider, but MariaDB devs are trying to incorporate MySQL changes to ensure backward compatibility. But (at the moment), the gap is very narrow and mostly affects only the internal mechanisms, that has little to no impact on PDO connections. – Máté Gelei Apr 24 '13 at 15:00
Corrected my post, anyway. :) – Máté Gelei Apr 24 '13 at 15:01
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"almost" can make a big difference! – HenchHacker Apr 24 '13 at 15:09
soooo PDO and its syntax can be used with mariaDB? – oldboy Jun 30 '18 at 03:56

score 5 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 24 '13 at 14:48

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Can I use the MySQL PDO driver with a MariaDB database, at least until an official MariaDB driver becomes available?

Yes.

As well as Percona or any other fork that being old good mysql in it's core.

answered Apr 24 '13 at 14:48

Your Common Sense

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PDO and MariaDB

2 Answers2

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