Here at MySQL we are constantly improving both our servers and our client software by making things simple to use and understand. An area where we want to simplify things is around the version number we use for various MySQL client, connector, and other applications like Workbench, MySQL Enterprise Backup, etc.
Basically:
- We want to make sure our users easily know which version of a connector or client works with which server version(s).
- We want to deliver support for new server features during the server DMR phase without disrupting the GA versions of the connectors.
Which Connector Version To Use?
MySQL connectors (our client libraries — Connector/C, Connector/J, Connector/Net, etc) and other clients (tools and applications — MySQL Shell, MySQL Enterprise Backup, etc) will generally release more often than the server. Relative to upgrading a set of servers in an enterprise, upgrading a client is normally quite simple.
Because of this rapid versioning of clients we have historically not tied the client version to the server version. In addition to that we’ve changed the server versioning as of MySQL 8.0 to increment just the first digit for each major release. After 8 comes 9, etc.
So you may see that the current versions of some client libraries are all over the place – 6.9 for Connector/Net, 5.1 for Connector/J, 2.1 for Connector/Python, or 4.1 for MySQL Enterprise Backup. As you can see these version numbers do not relate to the server version at all. We think this is confusing and with the recent server version change we could simplify things for clients, connectors, and applications.
Note: In some cases we tried to make this easier by having a policy that all our support client libraries must support all servers that are still supported, but then there are other clients like MySQL Enterprise Manager where that’s not the case.
Challenges – DMRs and Testing Out New Server Features
The server team provides pre-release versions of the server available for testing out new features. These releases are called DMR or “Development Milestone Release”. While many of the new server features are transparent to client libraries, some require client library updates like new collations or new security measures.
When server changes affect clients users ask how can they try out the new features? What connector or client version should they use?
And, features appearing in server DMR releases can change. They are, after all, in development so adding support for pre-release features that can change into a GA connector is really a no-go. So we need a way to make new server features available to connectors and clients without disrupting the normal feature cycle of the clients.
Solving – New Simplified Versioning Methods for Clients
To address these issues beginning with the 8.0 server GA release, all of our connectors will synchronize the first digit of their version number with the server. This means that MySQL Server 8.0 will go GA alongside 8.0 versions of each of our connectors.
Now, it’s easy to know which version of a client you should use – the first version number should match (starting with 8.x.x releases).
- For Connectors – Using MySQL 8.0 then any of our MySQL connectors 8.0 or later will fit the bill! Does this mean that older connectors will not work with MySQL 8.0? Not necessarily! However, older connectors might not be quite as compatible and will certainly not support many of the new features.
- Other client tools and application – Will also go to 8.0 versions – MySQL Shell 8.0, MySQL Workbench 8.0, MySQL Enterprise Backup 8.0, etc.
As new MySQL Server DMR releases come out you can expect to see corresponding clients to help you try out the new features in both the client and the server.
We see the change as an opportunity to really clarify our product offerings using the version number and deliver a much more unified experience. Clients will still version frequently so you’ll see some clients move ahead with 8.1 and 8.2 versions but that first digit 8 will still tell you that it will work perfectly with MySQL Server 8.0
We’ll have more to say on this in the coming weeks! Please let us know if you have any questions!