MariaDB
From Askmonty.org
MariaDB 5.1.42 Stable (aka GA) released! Download it!
Purpose of this FAQ
This FAQ explains some basic information about the MariaDB SQL server project and how to participate in it.
What is MariaDB?
MariaDB is a backward compatible, drop-in replacement branch of the MySQL® Database Server. It includes all major open source storage engines, including the Maria storage engine.
You can find the MariaDB code on Launchpad, and download binaries here.
MariaDB is community developed in collaboration with Monty Program. Our ambition is to make MariaDB the best open and free branch of MySQL Database Server for the end user, developer and partner communities.
Why is the project called MariaDB?
We can't use the MySQL name as this is trademarked by Sun (now Oracle), and they have chosen to keep that trademark quite exclusive to themselves. The name MySQL (just like the MyISAM storage engine) comes from Monty's first daughter "My". MariaDB continues this tradition by being named after his younger daughter.
Incidentally, MariaDB also includes an updated version of MyISAM, known as the Maria storage engine.
What is the goal of MariaDB?
To provide a community developed, stable, and always Free branch of MySQL that is, on the user level, compatible with the main version. We strive for total interoperability with both our own, and our upstream, communities.
MariaDB will be kept up to date with the latest MySQL release from the same branch. For example MariaDB 5.1 will be kept up to date with MySQL 5.1, and so on.
We will do a merge from the MySQL branch for every new MySQL release or when there is some fatal bugfix applied to the main branch.
We strive to keep our main trees as free from bugs as possible. It should be reasonably safe to pull from our trees at any time. We work to provide builds of the main branch and active development branches every month.
What license does MariaDB use?
MariaDB is available under the terms of the GPL v2 license, just like MySQL.
What are the differences between MariaDB and MySQL?
This is documented on the MariaDB versus MySQL page.
How can I upgrade from MySQL to MariaDB ?
For all practical purposes, you can view MariaDB as an upgrade of MySQL:
- Within the same base version (for example 5.1) you can just uninstall MySQL and install MariaDB and you are good to go. There is no need to dump and restore databases (even if a backup is recommended, as always when you upgrade a database server).
- If MariaDB has a higher main version number, you should run mysql_upgrade (just as you would with MySQL) to finish the upgrade.
You can find more information on the MariaDB installation page.
Who is behind MariaDB?
The MariaDB project is the brainchild of Michael "Monty" Widenius, the founder of MySQL and Monty Program Ab.
The core team consists of developers hired by Monty Program Ab, some partners of Monty Program, and community members. MariaDB is a technocracy, and we want our core membership to reflect this.
A current list of active core contributors (maria-captains) can be found on Launchpad.
What is the release policy/schedule of MariaDB?
MariaDB follows the same release criteria as Maria.
- MariaDB 5.4 and above will be released at similar times as MySQL 5.4 and above. We may delay calling a release stable/GA for some time if we don't think the release is stable enough.
The MariaDB Development Plans page links to our plans for future versions of MariaDB.
Where can I download MariaDB?
Tarballs with source and 32- and 64-bit binaries for x86 Linux are available on the MariaDB download page.
We hope that interested community package maintainers will step forward. We ask for strict adherence to your packaging system's best practices, and invite your feedback if our project impedes this in any way.
You can find all the source code in Maria's Launchpad repository.
To check code out and in, the bzr (Bazaar) version control software offers the path of least resistance. If you are unfamiliar with bzr, please refer to the bzr documentation for an understanding of version control with bzr.
For instructions on creating your own local branch of MariaDB, see the Getting the MariaDB Source Code page.
See the Compiling page for instructions on compiling MariaDB from source.
When will MariaDB 5.1 be released?
MariaDB 5.1.42 is available now on the MariaDB:Download page.
Take a look at our MariaDB Development Plans page for a look at our plans for future versions of MariaDB.
What will be in MariaDB 5.1?
You can read about the features and improvements included in MariaDB 5.1 on the MariaDB versus MySQL page.
The MariaDB Development Plans page links to our plans for future versions of MariaDB.
Where are other users and developers?
The Maria project is hosted on Launchpad. A good way to get started is to join one of the Launchpad teams:
- The maria-discuss team is for MariaDB users and general discussion.
- The maria-developers team is for those who want to contribute code to the project or otherwise closely monitor development.
- The maria-captains team is for trusted developers who merge code into official trees.
Membership in these groups allows subscription to the associated mailing lists.
The Maria project's official IRC channel is #maria on Freenode. The channel #maria-meeting is used for official meetings. In the interest of users, we hope not to have a separate channel for developers. Users are asked to keep their best interests in mind when interacting with busy developers in our big tent.
Can I get help? Something's broken!
In most cases the documentation for MySQL can be used. New features of MariaDB are mentioned on the MariaDB versus MySQL page and explained in greater detail in the MariaDB 5.1 Reference Manual. More feature-rich methods for understanding Maria-specific changes are forthcoming.
You can report and check bugs that are unique to MariaDB in Launchpad. MySQL bugs that also affect Maria should be reported to MySQL.
For commercial support, see Support. (That page will be expanded to cover any and all MariaDB support providers in the future.)
Which tools are available for developing on the MariaDB code?
The code is hosted on Launchpad. You can branch the latest code from there, and you can also push your own changes as a new branch that can be shared with others. The bzr revision control system is used, at least version 1.12 is recommented (old versions are not compatible with the repository format used on the Launchpad MariaDB trees).
Building the code is done with standard Unix tools: autotools, Gnu Make, GCC (or other C/C++ compiler on some systems). On Windows, CMake and Visual Studio is used.
The current state of the source with respect to build/test failures can be seen in our BuildBot setup.
We are still deciding which bug tracker to select long-term. For now, the one on Launchpad can be used.
For project management, we use Worklog.
We have created a page on setting up your development environment if you would like suggestions.
How can I participate in the development of MariaDB?
- Join the rest of the gang on IRC at the #maria channel on freenode.
- Register yourself as a Maria developer on Launchpad
- Register yourself on the wiki, if you want to participate in discussions about the wiki information.
- Follow the Ubuntu Code Of Conduct
- Participate in e-mail discussions via Launchpad memberships.
- If you want to submit code under other license than BSD-new, sign and email the Monty Program Contributor agreement.
- Submit code, proposals, feature requests to the developer list.
- Work with the captains to get your code approved.
- Submit it to the captain that was working on your review or to the email list for inclusion in MariaDB.
- We expect you to take ownership of the code that you submit, and interact as a cohesive whole with other code-owners:
- You should fix bugs in your code
- You should review, approve or apply your own version of code that people submit to you that touches your code.
- You should be available for people that want to discuss your code.
- Help upgrade the code from one MariaDB version to the next.
- Maintain a positive, productive, light-hearted attitude. Developers temporarily stepping away gracefully to ensure real productivity is always understood in our community. Emphasis on gracefully.
If you don't do the above, then the maria-captains, or ultimately Monty Program Ab, will find someone that will take ownership of your code.
What are the criteria for maria-captains?
- Follow the guidelines for developers above, being exemplary in how you do so.
- Discuss and seek consensus for code that is submitted for approval.
- Have a good understanding of the MariaDB code so that you can perform thoughtful reviews.
- Understand when it's OK to push into the MariaDB tree. This is partly subjective, and relies upon ...
- Have the trust of the other MariaDB captains. We strive for a technocracy, and not a clique.
When you think you are ready, you can approach one of the MariaDB captains and ask him/her to request the other MariaDB captains for considering you to be a MariaDB captain. The captains will vote for your approval/disapproval and you will be informed about the result.
Where can I get more information about MariaDB development
See MariaDB Development and the MariaDB Development category for this.
