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Overview

MariaDB is a MySQL-compatible relational database created by the original developers of MySQL. Zequel supports MariaDB through the mysql2 driver (v3.11.5), leveraging full MySQL compatibility.

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Supported Versions

  • MariaDB 10.3+
  • MariaDB 10.4+
  • MariaDB 10.5+
  • MariaDB 10.6+
  • MariaDB 10.11+ (LTS)
  • MariaDB 11.0+
  • MariaDB 11.1+
  • MariaDB 11.2+

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Connection

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Basic Connection

Host: localhost
Port: 3306
Database: mysql
Username: root
Password: your_password

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Connection String Format

mariadb://user:password@localhost:3306/database
mysql://user:password@localhost:3306/database
MariaDB uses the same connection protocol as MySQL, so mysql:// URIs work with MariaDB servers.

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SSL/TLS Configuration

Same as MySQL - supports all SSL modes:
  • Disable
  • Prefer (try SSL, fallback to non-SSL)
  • Require
  • Verify-CA
  • Verify-Full

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Features

MariaDB inherits all MySQL features plus additional enhancements:

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MySQL-Compatible Features

  • Tables, views, and stored procedures
  • Triggers and events
  • Indexes (BTREE, HASH, FULLTEXT, SPATIAL)
  • Foreign key constraints
  • Transactions with InnoDB
  • Users and privileges
  • Partitions
  • Character sets and collations
See the MySQL documentation for detailed information on these features.

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MariaDB-Specific Enhancements

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Sequences (MariaDB 10.3+)

Native sequence support as an alternative to AUTO_INCREMENT: 
CREATE SEQUENCE seq_user_id
  START WITH 1000
  INCREMENT BY 1
  MINVALUE 1000
  MAXVALUE 999999
  CACHE 100;

INSERT INTO users (id, name) VALUES (NEXT VALUE FOR seq_user_id, 'John');

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System-Versioned Tables (MariaDB 10.3+)

Temporal tables with automatic history tracking: 
CREATE TABLE employees (
  id INT PRIMARY KEY,
  name VARCHAR(100),
  salary DECIMAL(10,2)
) WITH SYSTEM VERSIONING;

-- Query historical data
SELECT * FROM employees FOR SYSTEM_TIME AS OF '2024-01-01';

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JSON Functions (MariaDB 10.6+)

Enhanced JSON support with table functions: 
SELECT * FROM JSON_TABLE(
  '[{"id":1,"name":"Alice"},{"id":2,"name":"Bob"}]',
  '$[*]' COLUMNS(
    id INT PATH '$.id',
    name VARCHAR(50) PATH '$.name'
  )
) AS users;

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Oracle Compatibility Mode

Optional Oracle SQL syntax compatibility: 
SET sql_mode = 'ORACLE';

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Storage Engines

MariaDB includes additional storage engines:
  • InnoDB (default) - ACID transactions
  • Aria - Crash-safe MyISAM replacement
  • MyRocks - RocksDB-based engine
  • ColumnStore - Columnar storage for analytics
  • CONNECT - Connect to external data sources
  • Spider - Sharding and partitioning

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Data Types

  • TINYINT, SMALLINT, MEDIUMINT, INT, BIGINT
  • DECIMAL, NUMERIC
  • FLOAT, DOUBLE
  • BIT

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Differences from MySQL

While MariaDB maintains MySQL compatibility, there are some differences:

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Advantages over MySQL

  • Better performance in many workloads
  • More storage engines (Aria, MyRocks, ColumnStore)
  • Sequences as first-class objects
  • System versioning for temporal tables
  • Thread pool for better connection handling
  • Faster replication with parallel slave threads

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Compatibility Notes

  • Most MySQL 8.0 features are supported in MariaDB 10.6+
  • Some MySQL 8.0-specific features may not be available
  • Binary replication between MySQL 8.0 and MariaDB requires testing
If you’re migrating between MySQL and MariaDB, test thoroughly as some internal differences may affect application behavior.

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Version Detection

Zequel automatically detects MariaDB vs MySQL: 
SELECT VERSION();
-- Returns: 11.2.2-MariaDB
The driver checks for “MariaDB” in the version string to enable MariaDB-specific features.

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Docker Development

Zequel includes MariaDB in Docker Compose: 
services:
  mariadb:
    image: mariadb:11.2
    ports:
      - "3307:3306"
    environment:
      MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD: mariadb
    volumes:
      - ./docker/mariadb/init.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/init.sql
The seed database includes:
  • Tables with various storage engines
  • Views and stored procedures
  • Triggers and events
  • System-versioned tables (if supported)
  • Sequences (if supported)
  • Users and privileges

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Best Practices

  1. Use Aria for non-transactional tables instead of MyISAM
  2. Enable thread pool for high-concurrency workloads
  3. Use sequences instead of AUTO_INCREMENT for distributed systems
  4. Consider system versioning for audit requirements
  5. Monitor with Performance Schema for query optimization
  6. Use utf8mb4 charset for full Unicode support

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Additional Resources

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