WL#7247: Deprecate and remove the \N synonym of NULL

Affects: Server-8.0   —   Status: Complete

The \N synonym for the NULL is a non-standard SQL syntax extension.

Most likely it is not widely used any more, so it would be nice to deprecate it (output a warning message on use) to make the server a bit more standard- compliant.

Another reason for this WL is to make the parser simpler in the future.

We propose to add a deprecation warnings in 5.7 + 5.6 maintenance releases, and remove in 8.0. This should leave enough time for users to change their application since it is not a commonly used syntax.

Note: this WL does nothing with the \N feature of the input/output file format of SELECT INTO/LOAD DATA statements.

See also: http://www.tocker.ca/2013/09/06/spring-cleaning-deprecation-of-null-synonym-backslash-n.html

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