Category Archives: Community
In the previous article, we wrote, compiled, and tested our first custom data type for MariaDB using the Type_handler framework.
But currently, aside from allowing the use of its new name (MONEY) and listing it in the metadata, our new data type behaves exactly like a DOUBLE, the class it inherits from.
In this article, we will extend our data type just a bit by transforming the result into a VARCHAR and adding a currency sign to it: the dollar sign ($).
This is the expected result:
MariaDB [test]> …
Continue reading “Adding a New Data Type to MariaDB with Type_handler – Part 3”
After having discovered the Type_hander framework and learned how to build MariaDB Server from source, it’s time to code our first data type!
We will create a MariaDB plugin that registers a new MONEY type and instantiates a custom field object.
Our component won’t be exciting, but we want to understand how to use the framework and test it.
We want to prove that
- the plugin loads,
- the server sees the type hander,
- a MONEY column can create a Field_money object.
Everything else comes later.
…
Continue reading “Adding a New Data Type to MariaDB with Type_handler – Part 2”
Over the past month, one question has been coming up with increasing frequency:
What is the MySQL / MariaDB ecosystem?
In most discussions, the answer tends to focus on contributors to the source code: engineers, committers, and core developers shaping the database itself. That perspective is both valid and essential.
But it is only part of the picture.
Over the past few months, we have been looking at the ecosystem from a different angle:
What is being built around MariaDB?
Where is it being used?
…
Continue reading “From Ecosystem to Architecture: Expanding How We Look at MariaDB”
This is the first part of the series about how to add a new data type to MariaDB using the Type_handler framework. A preliminary article has already been published to start the series; it covers how to set up your development environment and compile MariaDB Server: Adding a New Data Type to MariaDB with Type_handler – Part 0.
Understand Type_handler Before Writing Code
When you add a new type to MariaDB, you are not only adding a new SQL keyword. Historically, that kind of work required invasive changes across the parser, optimizer, protocol, replication, and type-conversion mechanisms.
…
Continue reading “Adding a New Data Type to MariaDB with Type_handler – Part 1”
Welcome to this new series about extending MariaDB. This series covers the addition of a new data type using the Type_handler.
The goal of the entire series is to create a new plugin data type MONEY to store and display amounts with currency.
Something like:
MariaDB [test]> select * from t1;
+—-+————-+
| id | amount |
+—-+————-+
| 1 | $2,000.00 |
| 2 | $100,000.56 |
+—-+————-+
2 rows in set (0.002 sec)
Of course, the ultimate goal is to teach how to add data types in MariaDB, and we expect to see how creative our community developers are!
…
Continue reading “Adding a New Data Type to MariaDB with Type_handler – Part 0”
We recently asked the community a simple but important question:
What is the main source of the MariaDB Server you use?
The answers provide a very interesting snapshot of how MariaDB is consumed in the real world today—and, perhaps more importantly, how different installation methods reflect different use cases and priorities.
We got 2,373 replies on the poll!
Let’s take a closer look and try to understand these results.
Linux Distribution Repositories Still Lead
The most common answer, at just over 25%, is installation from Linux distribution repositories.
…
Preview releases are among the clearest ways an open-source community can shape the future of a database before it becomes a production reality. They give users early access to new features, a chance to validate upgrade paths, and an opportunity to catch issues while the change is still inexpensive.
In our recent survey, we asked a simple question:
“Have you used a MariaDB preview release?”
The responses tell an interesting story about awareness, experimentation, and where the MariaDB community still sees friction.
Compared with the last polls, we had a slightly smaller number of participants.
…
Continue reading “What Our Survey Says About MariaDB Preview Releases”
Percona’s new 2026 benchmark report is interesting because it puts several MySQL-family releases on the same graphs and shares a public repository for the test harness. That openness is welcome. But after reading both the article and the published scripts, I do not think the post supports broad conclusions about “ecosystem performance,” and I especially do not think it represents an adequately tuned MariaDB, worthy of a neutral comparison.
Versions
The versions chosen for MariaDB are already a subject of debate. MySQL 9.6.0 (the latest Innovation Release) and MariaDB 12.1.2 (a rolling release) were used.
…