MySQL vs MySQLi

[James Birkett]

Afternoon All,

I'm wondering, what are the benefits of using MySQLi over MySQL in terms of vBulletin?
Does it have any effect on performance etc?
Would it affect usage of modifications?
Is it recommended?

[theFM]

msqli is an improved database layer for php 5 and msql 4.1+.

they are all the same , both msqli and msql has caused problems in the past and till now , but it's a good idea to use it if possible, but only if you are getting problems using msql then only. else no need to shift to msqli for no reason^^

Regards

[Adrian Schneider]

I would say the performance differences are negligible, but it does contain a ton of additional features that you may not notice unless you are using them in your application code.

[James Birkett]

vBulletin Documentation on MySQLi

The documentation says:

MySQLi is an improved database layer for PHP 5 and MySQL 4.1+. It is strongly recommended that MySQLi be used if your MySQL server is at version 4.1 or higher.

Now, my (new) host supports it - and I have just installed it.
Would it affect any modifications at all? In terms of database connection? Or does it all run via the $db variable anyway, thus not mattering which connection you use?


Thanks for your input.

[Adrian Schneider]

It's highly (99%) unlikely that it will affect any of your modifications. vBulletin's DB code is an abstraction layer in itself, so it covers the mapping of $db function calls to the underlying database adapter functions.

However, eventually I can see the standard mysql function being deprecated. Maybe not in vBulletin, but other applications who wish to use the more powerful database functions. I know Zend Framework requires PDO_MySQL or MySQLi to function.

It's a safe bet to use it.

[James Birkett]

Thanks majorly for your input Adrian. Thanks to you too FM.

I'll get specifics over at vBulletin.com but you've definitely put my mind at rest.

Thanks again!