libmysql_libmariadb

Differences between MariaDB and MySQL Connector/C

History and License

Even if MariaDB Connector/C and MySQL Connector/C have common roots (namely the version 3.23.51 from the year 2003 which was published under the LGPL), both have some differences.

While MySQL Connector/C (or libmysql) was further developed under the GPL, MariaDB Connector/C was newly developed based on MySQL 3.23.51. Major enhancements, such as the prepared statement API and numerous protocol extensions have been integrated from mysqlnd extension of the PHP project. The first version of MariaDB Connector/C was released in 2012.

In contrast to MySQL Connector/C, MariaDB Connector/C is licensed under the LGPL license and thus can be integrated and used free of charge in almost all (including commercial/closed source) projects.

API

API functions which are supported by both MySQL and MariaDB Connector/C are prefixed with "mysql", MariaDB specific features are prefixed with "mariadb".

Example:

• mysql_real_connect
• mariadb_stmt_execute_direct

No rule without exception: For example, the mysql_optionsv function only exists in MariaDB Connector / C. It was added as an extension of the existing mysql_options function to allow a function call with a variable number of parameters.

Unsupported API functions

Unsupported functions in MariaDB Connector/C

• mysql_reset_server_public_key
• mysql_result_metadata (scheduled for MariaDB C/C 3.1)
• mysql_binlog_* (The binlog replication API in MariaDB C/C 3.1 has a different interface)

Unsupported functions in MySQL Connector/C

• mariadb_connection
• mysql_optionsv
• mysql_get_info
• mariadb_reconnect
• mariadb_cancel
• mariadb_stmt_execute_direct
• mysql_stmt_warning_count
• mysql_get_timeout_value/ms
• mariadb_dyncol-* (dynamic column api)
• mysql_async_* (asynchronous/non-blocking API)
• mariadb_rpl_* (replication/binlog API)

Protocol

Especially in the last versions (MySQL C/C> = 5.7 and MariaDB C/C> = 3.0) some protocol extensions were added which are not or only partially supported:

Protocol	MySQL C/C	MariaDB C/C
X-Protocol	X	-
Extended OK packet	X	- (scheduled for 3.1)
Prepared statement bulk insert	-	X
Prepared statemnt direct execution	-	X

Client authentication plugins

Both MySQL and MariaDB Connector/C support different kind of plugable client authentication plugins:

Authentication plugin	MySQL C/C	MariaDB C/C
Native password	X	X
Old password	X (removed in newer versions)	X
Cleartext	X	X
Dialog	X	X
SHA256	X	X¹
Caching SHA2	X	X¹
Kerberos/GSSAPI	-	X
ed25519	-	X

¹= requires OpenSSL, LibreSSL or GnuTLS

Security/TLS (Transport layer security protocol)

Both MySQL and MariaDB Connector/C support secure connection using the TLS protocol, however with some differences:

Supported TLS libraries

TLS library	MySQL C/C	MariaDB C/C
OpenSSL	X	X
LibreSSL	X	X
GnuTLS	-	X
Windows Schannel	-	X
WolfSSL	X	-²
Yassl	X	-²

²= license incompatible

Supported TLS protocols

Protocol version	MySQL C/C	MariaDB C/C
SSLv3	x (yassl only)	-
TLSv1.0	X	X
TLSv1.1	X	X
TLSv1.2	X (not yassl)	X
TLSv1.3	X (not yassl)	X

Supported TLS features

Feature	MySQL C/C	MariaDB C/C
ssl mode	X	-
server certificate verification	X	X
passphrase protected keys	-	X
force use of tls version	-	X
certificate finger print verification	-	X