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= F40 MariaDB & MySQL repackaging =
 
<!-- The actual name of your proposed change page should look something like: Changes/Your_Change_Proposal_Name.  This keeps all change proposals in the same namespace -->
 
= Change Proposal Name <!-- The name of your change proposal --> =


{{Change_Proposal_Banner}}
{{Change_Proposal_Banner}}


== Summary ==
== Summary ==
<!-- A sentence or two summarizing what this change is and what it will do. This information is used for the overall changeset summary page for each release. Note that motivation for the change should be in the Benefit to Fedora section below, and this part should answer the question "What?" rather than "Why?". -->
 
A bigger set of smaller changes for which I want to extend visibility:
* Drop i686 arches
* Rename package 'community-mysql' to 'mysql' and Stop providing 'mysql' symbols by package 'mariadb'
* Drop cross-installation functionality
* Switch to the versioned layout of MariaDB and MySQL packages
* Introduce MariaDB 10.11 and MySQL 8.1


== Owner ==
== Owner ==
<!--
* Name: [[User:mschorm| Michal Schorm]]
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* Name: [[User:FASAcountName| Your Name]]
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== Current status ==
== Current status ==
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* Targeted release: [https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/releases/f<VERSION>/ Fedora Linux <VERSION>]
* Targeted release: [https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/releases/f40/ Fedora Linux 40]
* Last updated: <!-- this is an automatic macro — you don't need to change this line -->  {{REVISIONYEAR}}-{{REVISIONMONTH}}-{{REVISIONDAY2}}  
* Last updated: {{REVISIONYEAR}}-{{REVISIONMONTH}}-{{REVISIONDAY2}}  
 
<!-- After the change proposal is accepted by FESCo, tracking bug is created in Bugzilla and linked to this page  
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Bugzilla state meanings:
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== Detailed Description ==
== Detailed Description ==
<!-- Expand on the summary, if appropriate. A couple sentences suffices to explain the goal, but the more details you can provide the better. -->
 
 
Most (if not all) of the changes I propose here doesn't probabbly need such a formal process as Fedora Change is.
What I want is primarly to increase the visibility of the changes, and preserve those information in a permament document, allowing both users and maintainers to find this page both now, and in the future.
 
 
 
 
 
'''Drop of the i686 architecture:'''
 
Both MariaDB and MySQL databases are huge pieces of software, taking hours to compile and test, taking up noticeable amount of system resources on our builders and any attached system (e.g. repositories). At the same time, I can hardly imagine anyone running those databases in production on i686 nowadays. I will keep i686 variant for the client library, the 'libmariadb.so', which can be found in the 'mariadb-connector-c' package. However the DB servers themselves are IMO expendable.
 
On top of the resources saved, I also keep finding bugs and issues, that are exclusive for the i686 architecture. They are more often than not in the tooling around, rather than the package itself, but it keeps needlessly devouring my time and energy anyway.
 
Last but not least, all maintainers are currently encouraged to drop i686 support, starting from leaf packages.<br>
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/EncourageI686LeafRemoval
 
So I have to make sure the MariaDB and MySQL are leaf package on i686 architecture, so I can drop them on i686 too.<br>
I've started the process by fixing https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2241091
 
 
I use the following code to find out which packages requires which provides:
 
  #!/bin/bash
  mkdir -p RESULTS
  for REPO in "rawhide" "rpmfusion-free" "rpmfusion-nonfree" ; do
    for PROVIDE in "mariadb" "mariadb-devel" "mariadb-connector-c" "mariadb-connector-c-devel" "pkgconfig(mariadb)" "pkgconfig(libmariadb)" "mysql" "mysql-devel" "community-mysql" "community-mysql-devel" "pkgconfig(mysql)" ; do
      echo -e "\n\nREPO: $REPO ; PROVIDE: $PROVIDE";
      dnf -q --repo="$REPO" --repo="$REPO"-source repoquery --whatrequires "$PROVIDE" --alldeps | tee "./RESULTS/$REPO-$PROVIDE"
    done
  done
 
It show that other than the last few occurrences described in the bugzilla above, all is ready.
 
 
 
 
 
'''Rename package 'community-mysql' to 'mysql'''' <br>
and '''Stop providing 'mysql' symbols by package 'mariadb': '''
 
When MariaDB was introduced to Fedora, it seemed like it eventually replaces MySQL and therefore the packages were designed so that 'mysql' names were provided by MariaDB and MySQL was renamed to community-mysql.
 
The both projects were drop-in replacements at that time, so that design helped the smooth transition.
Since then, a lot changed. First, those two databases developed different sets of features. The last "major major" version of MariaDB marked as a drop-in replacement is MariaDB 5.5.
From MariaDB 10.0, it is usually still easy to upgrade from one to another. <br>
https://mariadb.com/kb/en/mariadb-vs-mysql-compatibility/
 
Since MySQL 8.0 and circa MariaDB 10.5, the differences grew significantly and so it does not make sense anymore to provide 'mysql' names by MariaDB package(s).
 
Moreover, the package name 'community-mysql' is Fedora specific. Oracle upstream uses 'mysql-community', Debian, RHEL and CentOS Stream use 'mysql'. From experience I can say users usually search for 'mysql' name.
To keep the naming convention closer to Fedora-related clones, the proposal is to rename the MySQL packages from 'community-mysql' to 'mysql'.
 
This change will save me, the maintainer, noticeable amount of time and energy when cherry-picking commits and patches from Fedora to CentOS Stream and RHEL. <br>
And the more energy I save downstream, the more I can put into Fedora and upstream.
 
This change was being prepared to be proposed back for Fedora 37, but we left it unfinished due to capacity reasons:
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/MariaDB_MySQL_Renaming
 
 
 
 
 
'''Drop cross-installation functionality:'''
 
In Fedora, I currently allow, on the packaging level, to cross install server of one DB with client of another. <br>
Specifically, you can install MariaDB server with MySQL client or MySQL server with MariaDB client.
 
I introduced this functinality to try it out, in hope of delivering a handy enhancement for the users. <br>
Sadly, the drawbacks outweights the positives. This behavior become a generator of elusive bugs I was never able to resolve. <br>
E.g.: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2026933
 
Moreover, as the MariaDB and MySQL projects diverged significantly (see the above point), it stopped to make sense around the time the MariaDB stopped to be drop-in replacement for MySQL.
 
AFAIK, Fedora is the only distribution I know of, which ever allowed such installation combination. <br>
I though it would be interesting, I tried it, I found out, now I want to end the experiment.
 
 
 
 
 
'''Switch to the versioned layout of MariaDB and MySQL packages:'''
 
I used the modularity heavily, as a package maintainer. <br>
It allowed me to ship alternative versions of MariaDB that I or the users wanted. During chnages of the default major version of MariaDB in Fedora, they served as a handy way for anyone to use them way before the change is implemented, or after it when the haven't adapted their systems to the new default version. I've regurarly selected the versions I maintain in CentOS Stream and RHEL - those which received the most care - and supported them fro the longest time as Fedora modules.
 
With Modularity retired https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/RetireModularity I have lost this ability.
 
When researching alternative approaches, only one seem to cover my goals without too much of additional fuss. <br>
That are the "Multiple packages with the same base name": <br>
https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/packaging-guidelines/Naming/#multiple
 
I want to change the packaging structure so the result will look as follows:
* The unversioned name ('mariadb') will become a meta-package
** It will point to the one versioned variant which I choose to be the default one for the given Fedora release
** It will provide all of the unversioned names for the versioned variant that is default for the given Fedora release, to minimize the changes visible to the users
* All other versions will have their own versoined package (e.g "mariadb10.5" "mariadb10.11") and will conflict with each other
 
This will allow for:
* users to keep using the unversioned names they are used to
* mainatiner to change the default version for a given Fedora release on a single, centralized place
* users to enjoy all of the features of the modularity I offered them, in a simpler way
* maintainer to add new versions quickly, without any need of changing the default version (other than adding new conflicts)
 
  Note:
  I specifically don't want the packages to be parallel installable. I only want them to be parallel available.
  That's why I didn't choose "Alternatives" as the solution:
  https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/packaging-guidelines/Alternatives/
 
 
 
 
 
'''Introduce MariaDB 10.11 and MySQL 8.1'''
 
I would like to introduce MariaDB 10.11 and MySQL 8.1 into the Fedora.
 
Based on the previous point, it should be achieved without any user disturbance, as I won't change what is the default version in the distribution, I will just add an alternative for the users to choose from.
 
Proof of concept (needs additional work) for MariaDB 10.11 here: <br>
https://koji.fedoraproject.org/koji/taskinfo?taskID=102927697 <br>
https://src.fedoraproject.org/fork/mschorm/rpms/mariadb/commits/10.11-LTS
 
 


== Feedback ==
== Feedback ==
<!-- Summarize the feedback from the community and address why you chose not to accept proposed alternatives. This section is optional for all change proposals but is strongly suggested. Incorporating feedback here as it is raised gives FESCo a clearer view of your proposal and leaves a good record for the future. If you get no feedback, that is useful to note in this section as well. For innovative or possibly controversial ideas, consider collecting feedback before you file the change proposal. -->
None received '''yet''' (02/10/2023)
 
 


== Benefit to Fedora ==
== Benefit to Fedora ==
<!-- What is the benefit to the distribution?  Will the software we generate be improved? How will the process of creating Fedora releases be improved?
 
      Be sure to include the following areas if relevant:
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      Is this an improvement targeted as specific contributors?
          For example: Ensuring that a minimal set of tools required for contribution to Fedora are installed by default eases the onboarding of new contributors.


    When a Change has multiple benefits, it's better to list them all.
'''Drop i686 arches'''
* Maintainer regaining time and energy, when I stop dealing with i686 specific bugs
* Fedora infrastructure regaining the system resources needed to be put into hours long compilations, storage, etc.
* Also 'BuildRequires:' regarding MariaDB and MySQL will get fixed across the packages
 
'''Rename package 'community-mysql' to 'mysql' ''' and '''Stop providing 'mysql' symbols by package 'mariadb''''
* Aligning with other distributions
* Recognizing the differences between MariaDB and MySQL that grew over time
* Maintainer regaining some time and energy from downstream work
 
'''Drop cross-installation functionality'''
* Elusive bugs caused by this will vanish, maintainer doesn't need to deal with them
* Recognizing the differences between MariaDB and MySQL that grew over time
 
'''Switch to the versioned layout of MariaDB and MySQL packages'''
* Allows to regain all of the functinality lost after Modularity retirement
** Helps maintainer to avoid the painful decision which single version of the DB to pack into Fedora
** Helps with upgrades of the default version - users may choose to upgrade earlier, or later
 
'''Introduce MariaDB 10.11 and MySQL 8.1'''
* New stuff that users wait for, yay \o/ !
 


    Consider these Change pages from previous editions as inspiration:
    https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/Annobin (low-level and technical, invisible to users)
    https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/ParallelInstallableDebuginfo (low-level, but visible to advanced users)
    https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/VirtualBox_Guest_Integration (primarily a UX change)
    https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/NoMoreAlpha (an improvement to distro processes)
    https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/perl5.26 (major upgrade to a popular software stack, visible to users of that stack)
-->


== Scope ==
== Scope ==
* Proposal owners:
* Proposal owners:
<!-- What work do the feature owners have to accomplish to complete the feature in time for release?  Is it a large change affecting many parts of the distribution or is it a very isolated change? What are those changes?-->
** request several repositories to be created
** may need to go through a package review process several times (ufortunatelly)


* Other developers: <!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
* Other developers: <!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
<!-- What work do other developers have to accomplish to complete the feature in time for release?  Is it a large change affecting many parts of the distribution or is it a very isolated change? What are those changes?-->
** ~6 remaining package(r)s to accept the PRs regarding usage of correct "BuildRequires:" or fix their packages in other way accordingly, in order to accomplish the i686 drop.


* Release engineering: [https://pagure.io/releng/issues #Releng issue number] <!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
* Release engineering: [https://pagure.io/releng/issues #Releng issue number] <!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
<!-- Does this feature require coordination with release engineering (e.g. changes to installer image generation or update package delivery)? Is a mass rebuild required?  include a link to the releng issue.
** shouldn't be needed ?
The issue is required to be filed prior to feature submission, to ensure that someone is on board to do any process development work and testing and that all changes make it into the pipeline; a bullet point in a change is not sufficient communication -->


* Policies and guidelines: N/A (not needed for this Change) <!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
* Policies and guidelines: N/A (not needed for this Change) <!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
<!-- Do the packaging guidelines or other documents need to be updated for this feature?  If so, does it need to happen before or after the implementation is done?  If a FPC ticket exists, add a link here. Please submit a pull request with the proposed changes before submitting your Change proposal. -->
** '''Should''' the Guidelines be in conflict with a reasonable approach I propose regarding the versioned packages, lowering their MUST to SHOULD in certain cases or getting FeSCo exception.


* Trademark approval: N/A (not needed for this Change)
* Trademark approval: N/A (not needed for this Change)
<!-- If your Change may require trademark approval (for example, if it is a new Spin), file a ticket ( https://pagure.io/Fedora-Council/tickets/issues ) requesting trademark approval from the Fedora Council. This approval will be done via the Council's consensus-based process. -->


* Alignment with Community Initiatives:  
* Alignment with Community Initiatives:  
<!-- Does your proposal align with the current Fedora Community Initiatives: https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/project/initiatives/ ? It's okay if it doesn't, but it's something to consider -->
 
 


== Upgrade/compatibility impact ==
== Upgrade/compatibility impact ==
<!-- What happens to systems that have had a previous versions of Fedora installed and are updated to the version containing this change? Will anything require manual configuration or data migration? Will any existing functionality be no longer supported? -->
<!-- What happens to systems that have had a previous versions of Fedora installed and are updated to the version containing this change? Will anything require manual configuration or data migration? Will any existing functionality be no longer supported? -->


<!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
'''Drop i686 arches'''
* Users relying on i686 build of the database servers don't have any upgrade path
 
'''Rename package 'community-mysql' to 'mysql' ''' and '''Stop providing 'mysql' symbols by package 'mariadb''''
* The package 'mariadb' will no longer be installed prefferably instead of package 'mysql' when doing "dnf install mysql" (and other subpackages)
 
'''Drop cross-installation functionality'''
* Users relying on this atypical setup don't have any clear upgrade path
** Such cases should only happen on depelopment setups, which is solvable with containers or simmilar semi-isolation
 
'''Switch to the versioned layout of MariaDB and MySQL packages'''
* Nothing I can think of
 
'''Introduce MariaDB 10.11 and MySQL 8.1'''
* Nothing I can think of
 




== How To Test ==
== How To Test ==
<!-- This does not need to be a full-fledged document. Describe the dimensions of tests that this change implementation is expected to pass when it is done.  If it needs to be tested with different hardware or software configurations, indicate them.  The more specific you can be, the better the community testing can be.
'''Drop i686 arches'''
* i686 doesn't exist anymore
 
'''Rename package 'community-mysql' to 'mysql' ''' and '''Stop providing 'mysql' symbols by package 'mariadb''''
* The package 'mariadb' will no longer be installed prefferably instead of package 'mysql' when doing "dnf install mysql" (and other subpackages)
* Using names 'mariadb' and 'community-mysql' leads to the same results as before


Remember that you are writing this how to for interested testers to use to check out your change implementation - documenting what you do for testing is OK, but it's much better to document what *I* can do to test your change.
'''Drop cross-installation functionality'''
* Cross-installation not allowed anymore


A good "how to test" should answer these four questions:
'''Switch to the versioned layout of MariaDB and MySQL packages'''
* Test updates, upgrades, reinstalls, etc.
** Users should get the same functional results as before with the same names as before, while having differently named packages present on the system


0. What special hardware / data / etc. is needed (if any)?
'''Introduce MariaDB 10.11 and MySQL 8.1'''
1. How do I prepare my system to test this change? What packages
* Test upgrades / downgrades between versions
need to be installed, config files edited, etc.?
2. What specific actions do I perform to check that the change is
working like it's supposed to?
3. What are the expected results of those actions?
-->


<!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->




== User Experience ==
== User Experience ==
<!-- If this change proposal is noticeable by users, how will their experiences change as a result?


This section partially overlaps with the Benefit to Fedora section above. This section should be primarily about the User Experience, written in a way that does not assume deep technical knowledge. More detailed technical description should be left for the Benefit to Fedora section.
'''Drop i686 arches'''
* i686 functionality lost (server only)
 
'''Rename package 'community-mysql' to 'mysql' ''' and '''Stop providing 'mysql' symbols by package 'mariadb''''
* The package 'mariadb' will no longer be installed prefferably instead of package 'mysql' when doing "dnf install mysql" (and other subpackages)
** Otherwise should not be noticeable to the user
 
'''Drop cross-installation functionality'''
* Cross-installation functionality lost
 
'''Switch to the versioned layout of MariaDB and MySQL packages'''
* Users should get the same functional results as before with the same names as before, while having differently named packages present on the system
* Functionality lost by Modularity retirement recovered
 
'''Introduce MariaDB 10.11 and MySQL 8.1'''
* New stuff that users wait for, yay \o/ !
 


Describe what Users will see or notice, for example:
  - Packages are compressed more efficiently, making downloads and upgrades faster by 10%.
  - Kerberos tickets can be renewed automatically. Users will now have to authenticate less and become more productive. Credential management improvements mean a user can start their work day with a single sign on and not have to pause for reauthentication during their entire day.
- Libreoffice is one of the most commonly installed applications on Fedora and it is now available by default to help users "hit the ground running".
- Green has been scientifically proven to be the most relaxing color. The move to a default background color of green with green text will result in Fedora users being the most relaxed users of any operating system.
-->


== Dependencies ==
== Dependencies ==
<!-- What other packages (RPMs) depend on this package?  Are there changes outside the developers' control on which completion of this change depends?  In other words, completion of another change owned by someone else and might cause you to not be able to finish on time or that you would need to coordinate?  Other upstream projects like the kernel (if this is not a kernel change)? -->
Only the i686 removal should be blocked by other packages.<br>
All other packages should keep working as they do.


<!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->




== Contingency Plan ==
== Contingency Plan ==


<!-- If you cannot complete your feature by the final development freeze, what is the backup plan?  This might be as simple as "Revert the shipped configuration".  Or it might not (e.g. rebuilding a number of dependent packages).  If you feature is not completed in time we want to assure others that other parts of Fedora will not be in jeopardy.  -->
'''Drop i686 arches'''
* Contingency mechanism: (What to do?  Who will do it?) N/A (not a System Wide Change)  <!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
* I'll try in F41 again
<!-- When is the last time the contingency mechanism can be put in place?  This will typically be the beta freeze. -->
 
* Contingency deadline: N/A (not a System Wide Change)  <!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
'''Rename package 'community-mysql' to 'mysql' ''' and '''Stop providing 'mysql' symbols by package 'mariadb''''
<!-- Does finishing this feature block the release, or can we ship with the feature in incomplete state? -->
* Revert
* Blocks release? N/A (not a System Wide Change), Yes/No <!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
 
'''Drop cross-installation functionality'''
* Revert
 
'''Switch to the versioned layout of MariaDB and MySQL packages'''
* Revert
 
'''Introduce MariaDB 10.11 and MySQL 8.1'''
* I'll try in F41 again
 




== Documentation ==
== Documentation ==
<!-- Is there upstream documentation on this change, or notes you have written yourself?  Link to that material here so other interested developers can get involved. -->


<!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
Let this document and the linked resources be the documentation.
N/A (not a System Wide Change)


== Release Notes ==
== Release Notes ==
<!-- The Fedora Release Notes inform end-users about what is new in the release.  Examples of past release notes are at https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/fedora/latest/release-notes/ -->
<!-- The release notes also help users know how to deal with platform changes such as ABIs/APIs, configuration or data file formats, or upgrade concerns.  If there are any such changes involved in this change, indicate them here.  A link to upstream documentation will often satisfy this need.  This information forms the basis of the release notes edited by the documentation team and shipped with the release.


Release Notes are not required for initial draft of the Change Proposal but has to be completed by the Change Freeze.
Will be added
-->

Revision as of 16:27, 4 October 2023

Guidance
For details on how to fill out this form, see the documentation.

F40 MariaDB & MySQL repackaging

This is a proposed Change for Fedora Linux.
This document represents a proposed Change. As part of the Changes process, proposals are publicly announced in order to receive community feedback. This proposal will only be implemented if approved by the Fedora Engineering Steering Committee.

Summary

A bigger set of smaller changes for which I want to extend visibility:

  • Drop i686 arches
  • Rename package 'community-mysql' to 'mysql' and Stop providing 'mysql' symbols by package 'mariadb'
  • Drop cross-installation functionality
  • Switch to the versioned layout of MariaDB and MySQL packages
  • Introduce MariaDB 10.11 and MySQL 8.1

Owner

Current status

  • [<will be assigned by the Wrangler> devel thread]
  • FESCo issue: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>
  • Tracker bug: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>
  • Release notes tracker: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>

Detailed Description

Most (if not all) of the changes I propose here doesn't probabbly need such a formal process as Fedora Change is. What I want is primarly to increase the visibility of the changes, and preserve those information in a permament document, allowing both users and maintainers to find this page both now, and in the future.



Drop of the i686 architecture:

Both MariaDB and MySQL databases are huge pieces of software, taking hours to compile and test, taking up noticeable amount of system resources on our builders and any attached system (e.g. repositories). At the same time, I can hardly imagine anyone running those databases in production on i686 nowadays. I will keep i686 variant for the client library, the 'libmariadb.so', which can be found in the 'mariadb-connector-c' package. However the DB servers themselves are IMO expendable.

On top of the resources saved, I also keep finding bugs and issues, that are exclusive for the i686 architecture. They are more often than not in the tooling around, rather than the package itself, but it keeps needlessly devouring my time and energy anyway.

Last but not least, all maintainers are currently encouraged to drop i686 support, starting from leaf packages.
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/EncourageI686LeafRemoval

So I have to make sure the MariaDB and MySQL are leaf package on i686 architecture, so I can drop them on i686 too.
I've started the process by fixing https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2241091


I use the following code to find out which packages requires which provides:

 #!/bin/bash
 mkdir -p RESULTS
 for REPO in "rawhide" "rpmfusion-free" "rpmfusion-nonfree" ; do
   for PROVIDE in "mariadb" "mariadb-devel" "mariadb-connector-c" "mariadb-connector-c-devel" "pkgconfig(mariadb)" "pkgconfig(libmariadb)" "mysql" "mysql-devel" "community-mysql" "community-mysql-devel" "pkgconfig(mysql)" ; do
     echo -e "\n\nREPO: $REPO ; PROVIDE: $PROVIDE";
     dnf -q --repo="$REPO" --repo="$REPO"-source repoquery --whatrequires "$PROVIDE" --alldeps | tee "./RESULTS/$REPO-$PROVIDE"
   done
 done

It show that other than the last few occurrences described in the bugzilla above, all is ready.



Rename package 'community-mysql' to 'mysql'
and Stop providing 'mysql' symbols by package 'mariadb':

When MariaDB was introduced to Fedora, it seemed like it eventually replaces MySQL and therefore the packages were designed so that 'mysql' names were provided by MariaDB and MySQL was renamed to community-mysql.

The both projects were drop-in replacements at that time, so that design helped the smooth transition. Since then, a lot changed. First, those two databases developed different sets of features. The last "major major" version of MariaDB marked as a drop-in replacement is MariaDB 5.5. From MariaDB 10.0, it is usually still easy to upgrade from one to another.
https://mariadb.com/kb/en/mariadb-vs-mysql-compatibility/

Since MySQL 8.0 and circa MariaDB 10.5, the differences grew significantly and so it does not make sense anymore to provide 'mysql' names by MariaDB package(s).

Moreover, the package name 'community-mysql' is Fedora specific. Oracle upstream uses 'mysql-community', Debian, RHEL and CentOS Stream use 'mysql'. From experience I can say users usually search for 'mysql' name. To keep the naming convention closer to Fedora-related clones, the proposal is to rename the MySQL packages from 'community-mysql' to 'mysql'.

This change will save me, the maintainer, noticeable amount of time and energy when cherry-picking commits and patches from Fedora to CentOS Stream and RHEL.
And the more energy I save downstream, the more I can put into Fedora and upstream.

This change was being prepared to be proposed back for Fedora 37, but we left it unfinished due to capacity reasons: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/MariaDB_MySQL_Renaming



Drop cross-installation functionality:

In Fedora, I currently allow, on the packaging level, to cross install server of one DB with client of another.
Specifically, you can install MariaDB server with MySQL client or MySQL server with MariaDB client.

I introduced this functinality to try it out, in hope of delivering a handy enhancement for the users.
Sadly, the drawbacks outweights the positives. This behavior become a generator of elusive bugs I was never able to resolve.
E.g.: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2026933

Moreover, as the MariaDB and MySQL projects diverged significantly (see the above point), it stopped to make sense around the time the MariaDB stopped to be drop-in replacement for MySQL.

AFAIK, Fedora is the only distribution I know of, which ever allowed such installation combination.
I though it would be interesting, I tried it, I found out, now I want to end the experiment.



Switch to the versioned layout of MariaDB and MySQL packages:

I used the modularity heavily, as a package maintainer.
It allowed me to ship alternative versions of MariaDB that I or the users wanted. During chnages of the default major version of MariaDB in Fedora, they served as a handy way for anyone to use them way before the change is implemented, or after it when the haven't adapted their systems to the new default version. I've regurarly selected the versions I maintain in CentOS Stream and RHEL - those which received the most care - and supported them fro the longest time as Fedora modules.

With Modularity retired https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/RetireModularity I have lost this ability.

When researching alternative approaches, only one seem to cover my goals without too much of additional fuss.
That are the "Multiple packages with the same base name":
https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/packaging-guidelines/Naming/#multiple

I want to change the packaging structure so the result will look as follows:

  • The unversioned name ('mariadb') will become a meta-package
    • It will point to the one versioned variant which I choose to be the default one for the given Fedora release
    • It will provide all of the unversioned names for the versioned variant that is default for the given Fedora release, to minimize the changes visible to the users
  • All other versions will have their own versoined package (e.g "mariadb10.5" "mariadb10.11") and will conflict with each other

This will allow for:

  • users to keep using the unversioned names they are used to
  • mainatiner to change the default version for a given Fedora release on a single, centralized place
  • users to enjoy all of the features of the modularity I offered them, in a simpler way
  • maintainer to add new versions quickly, without any need of changing the default version (other than adding new conflicts)
 Note:
 I specifically don't want the packages to be parallel installable. I only want them to be parallel available.
 That's why I didn't choose "Alternatives" as the solution:
 https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/packaging-guidelines/Alternatives/



Introduce MariaDB 10.11 and MySQL 8.1

I would like to introduce MariaDB 10.11 and MySQL 8.1 into the Fedora.

Based on the previous point, it should be achieved without any user disturbance, as I won't change what is the default version in the distribution, I will just add an alternative for the users to choose from.

Proof of concept (needs additional work) for MariaDB 10.11 here:
https://koji.fedoraproject.org/koji/taskinfo?taskID=102927697
https://src.fedoraproject.org/fork/mschorm/rpms/mariadb/commits/10.11-LTS


Feedback

None received yet (02/10/2023)


Benefit to Fedora

Drop i686 arches

  • Maintainer regaining time and energy, when I stop dealing with i686 specific bugs
  • Fedora infrastructure regaining the system resources needed to be put into hours long compilations, storage, etc.
  • Also 'BuildRequires:' regarding MariaDB and MySQL will get fixed across the packages

Rename package 'community-mysql' to 'mysql' and Stop providing 'mysql' symbols by package 'mariadb'

  • Aligning with other distributions
  • Recognizing the differences between MariaDB and MySQL that grew over time
  • Maintainer regaining some time and energy from downstream work

Drop cross-installation functionality

  • Elusive bugs caused by this will vanish, maintainer doesn't need to deal with them
  • Recognizing the differences between MariaDB and MySQL that grew over time

Switch to the versioned layout of MariaDB and MySQL packages

  • Allows to regain all of the functinality lost after Modularity retirement
    • Helps maintainer to avoid the painful decision which single version of the DB to pack into Fedora
    • Helps with upgrades of the default version - users may choose to upgrade earlier, or later

Introduce MariaDB 10.11 and MySQL 8.1

  • New stuff that users wait for, yay \o/ !


Scope

  • Proposal owners:
    • request several repositories to be created
    • may need to go through a package review process several times (ufortunatelly)
  • Other developers:
    • ~6 remaining package(r)s to accept the PRs regarding usage of correct "BuildRequires:" or fix their packages in other way accordingly, in order to accomplish the i686 drop.
  • Policies and guidelines: N/A (not needed for this Change)
    • Should the Guidelines be in conflict with a reasonable approach I propose regarding the versioned packages, lowering their MUST to SHOULD in certain cases or getting FeSCo exception.
  • Trademark approval: N/A (not needed for this Change)
  • Alignment with Community Initiatives:


Upgrade/compatibility impact

Drop i686 arches

  • Users relying on i686 build of the database servers don't have any upgrade path

Rename package 'community-mysql' to 'mysql' and Stop providing 'mysql' symbols by package 'mariadb'

  • The package 'mariadb' will no longer be installed prefferably instead of package 'mysql' when doing "dnf install mysql" (and other subpackages)

Drop cross-installation functionality

  • Users relying on this atypical setup don't have any clear upgrade path
    • Such cases should only happen on depelopment setups, which is solvable with containers or simmilar semi-isolation

Switch to the versioned layout of MariaDB and MySQL packages

  • Nothing I can think of

Introduce MariaDB 10.11 and MySQL 8.1

  • Nothing I can think of


How To Test

Drop i686 arches

  • i686 doesn't exist anymore

Rename package 'community-mysql' to 'mysql' and Stop providing 'mysql' symbols by package 'mariadb'

  • The package 'mariadb' will no longer be installed prefferably instead of package 'mysql' when doing "dnf install mysql" (and other subpackages)
  • Using names 'mariadb' and 'community-mysql' leads to the same results as before

Drop cross-installation functionality

  • Cross-installation not allowed anymore

Switch to the versioned layout of MariaDB and MySQL packages

  • Test updates, upgrades, reinstalls, etc.
    • Users should get the same functional results as before with the same names as before, while having differently named packages present on the system

Introduce MariaDB 10.11 and MySQL 8.1

  • Test upgrades / downgrades between versions


User Experience

Drop i686 arches

  • i686 functionality lost (server only)

Rename package 'community-mysql' to 'mysql' and Stop providing 'mysql' symbols by package 'mariadb'

  • The package 'mariadb' will no longer be installed prefferably instead of package 'mysql' when doing "dnf install mysql" (and other subpackages)
    • Otherwise should not be noticeable to the user

Drop cross-installation functionality

  • Cross-installation functionality lost

Switch to the versioned layout of MariaDB and MySQL packages

  • Users should get the same functional results as before with the same names as before, while having differently named packages present on the system
  • Functionality lost by Modularity retirement recovered

Introduce MariaDB 10.11 and MySQL 8.1

  • New stuff that users wait for, yay \o/ !


Dependencies

Only the i686 removal should be blocked by other packages.
All other packages should keep working as they do.


Contingency Plan

Drop i686 arches

  • I'll try in F41 again

Rename package 'community-mysql' to 'mysql' and Stop providing 'mysql' symbols by package 'mariadb'

  • Revert

Drop cross-installation functionality

  • Revert

Switch to the versioned layout of MariaDB and MySQL packages

  • Revert

Introduce MariaDB 10.11 and MySQL 8.1

  • I'll try in F41 again


Documentation

Let this document and the linked resources be the documentation.

Release Notes

Will be added