Hello everyone,

I gently began the process of softly deprecating ext/mysql. Basically, all I did was add <note>'s to several ext/mysql functions (to demonstrate the concept), and added a related <para> in the ext/mysql introduction. Although the PHP community has been asking people to move away from ext/mysql for years now, the idea here is to take the next [small] step to make it both clearer and easier.

The aim of each <note> is to: - Generally refer to the alternatives (mysqli and pdo_mysql) - Specify methods within said alternatives (e.g., mysql_connect-> mysqli_connect|pdo::__construct)

Possible problems: - Hidden (<note> is near the bottom, and mixed with other notes) - Confusion (ext/mysql functions linking to ext/mysqli functions)

The next step is to create a migration guide that will offer better examples and detailed information. I'm not sure how exactly it'll look, but I'm sure it'll be great. :)

At this time, we're okay to implement this soft deprecation although we aren't even using the word "deprecation" so it's more informational than deprecating. I don't feel like worrying about real deprecation at this point which eventually will involve E_DEPRECATED, PECL, and ext/mysql removal from php-src. Those steps are a long ways off.

If you find this troubling or see a better path then please speak up. Even minor tweaks are welcome. I plan to add a <note> to every ext/mysql function this upcoming week, then begin work on the migration guide. There's also talk of a script to convert mysql to mysqli but that's not a priority at this point.

And for the curious, here's a related thread on internals (from July 2011):

deprecating ext/mysql: http://markmail.org/thread/yjlc5ken45cloyib

Regards, Philip