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MySQL 5.0 Reference Manual :: A MySQL 5.0 Frequently Asked Questions :: A.2 MySQL 5.0 FAQ — Storage Engines
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A.2. MySQL 5.0 FAQ — Storage Engines

Questions

  • 22.2.1: Where can I obtain complete documentation for MySQL storage engines?

  • 22.2.2: Are there any new storage engines in MySQL 5.0?

  • 22.2.3: Have any storage engines been removed in MySQL 5.0?

  • 22.2.4: What are the unique benefits of the ARCHIVE storage engine?

  • 22.2.5: Do the new features in MySQL 5.0 apply to all storage engines?

Questions and Answers

22.2.1: Where can I obtain complete documentation for MySQL storage engines?

See Chapter 13, Storage Engines. That chapter contains information about all MySQL storage engines except for the NDB storage engine used for MySQL Cluster; NDB is covered in Chapter 16, MySQL Cluster.

22.2.2: Are there any new storage engines in MySQL 5.0?

Yes. The FEDERATED storage engine, new in MySQL 5.0, allows the server to access tables on other (remote) servers. See Section 13.7, “The FEDERATED Storage Engine”.

22.2.3: Have any storage engines been removed in MySQL 5.0?

Yes. MySQL 5.0 no longer supports the ISAM storage engine. If you have any existing ISAM tables from previous versions of MySQL, you should convert these to MyISAM before upgrading to MySQL 5.0.

22.2.4: What are the unique benefits of the ARCHIVE storage engine?

The ARCHIVE storage engine is ideally suited for storing large amounts of data without indexes; it has a very small footprint, and performs selects using table scans. See Section 13.8, “The ARCHIVE Storage Engine”, for details.

22.2.5: Do the new features in MySQL 5.0 apply to all storage engines?

The general new features such as views, stored procedures, triggers, INFORMATION_SCHEMA, precision math (DECIMAL column type), and the BIT column type, apply to all storage engines. There are also additions and changes for specific storage engines.