The latest release of the DBMS MariaDB, version 13.0, has been introduced as the first stable release in the 13.0 branch. This branch is classified as an intermediate release, continuing the gradual development of functionality and will be maintained until the stable release of the next branch. Additionally, a release candidate for MariaDB 13.1.1 is also available.
MariaDB, a project developed as a fork from MySQL, focuses on maintaining backward compatibility while integrating additional storage engines and advanced capabilities. The independent MariaDB Foundation oversees the development of MariaDB, following an open and transparent process that is not tied to individual vendors. MariaDB is often used as a replacement for MySQL on various Linux distributions and has been implemented in projects such as Wikipedia, Google Cloud SQL, and Nimbuzz.
Some of the changes and improvements in the MariaDB 13.0 branch include the ability to declare a reference data type for a cursor through the expression “TYPE .. IS REF CURSOR” and the provision of using the RECORD type in procedure parameters and return values. Optimizer hint QB_NAME() has been added, allowing the assignment of a name to a query block for optimization. Support for reverse executable comments has been included, enabling the execution of specific constructs based on different versions. Additionally, columns have been added to certain information schema tables to provide more detailed information about variables and engine-specific options.
Furthermore, enhancements such as configuring the time format in plugin logs for auditing, atomic execution of the “CREATE OR REPLACE TABLE” operation, and the implementation of the “UPDATE … RETURNING” construction for updating and returning changed values have been provided in the latest MariaDB release.