MySQL 5.6 is in its RC (release candidate) version. This means that it has already been tested and is theoretically about to go into production. Soon, it will be widely available.
I have been extensively testing MySQL 5.6. No, performance is not my main concern. I’m eagerly anticipating two features that are embedded in this new version, so much so that I’ve already deployed this version into a real, live production environment, and it has been a pleasant surprise for me.
Indeed, MySQL 5.6 is excellent. And no, I do not recommend putting it into production just yet. I suggest waiting (if your anxiety allows) for the final release.
So, let’s cut the chatter and dive into these two new features embedded in MySQL 5.6:
1 – Full Text Search on InnoDB
For those who don’t know, FTS (Full Text Search) is a highly specialized index for optimizing word-based searches. An FTS index is created by breaking down the column into words, instead of indexing the entire column. It’s much faster and more efficient than searches with “LIKE + %” for example.
In earlier versions of MySQL (<= 5.5), this type of search/index was only available on MyISAM tables (which are non-transactional). This was (and is) a pain for those working with transactional storage engines, as they had to keep MyISAM tables just for search purposes. A real “middleman.” For example, you would have a Products table (InnoDB) and a Product_Search table (MyISAM). You’d perform FTS search on MyISAM, retrieve all the IDs, and then perform the final search in InnoDB.
Starting with MySQL version 5.6, it is now possible to use FTS indexes and perform searches using the MATCH…AGAINST syntax. This is fantastic, and certainly the feature I was most looking forward to.
2 – Memcache & NoSQL
Memcache is the most well-known, simple, robust, and widely-used cache in the market. It can be used to cache images, PDFs, HTML, and… Data! And it’s been the ideal partner for MySQL for years. Easy to implement and use, it’s a myth in the online gaming, e-commerce, and digital library segments. Of course, all storage in MemCache is done in memory.
Now, it’s embedded in MySQL. Did I write that wrong? No, it’s actually integrated. It comes as a plugin that needs to be installed manually, but it’s there. This will be addressed in a future article.
Despite being a “pluggable” component of MySQL, it retains all the qualities of the original Memcache, along with an additional feature: the ability to persist cache data to disk.
Moreover, you can combine the Memcache plugin of MySQL with native replication to create a cluster of Cache that is persisted on disk. Fantastic!
MySQL has had NoSQL commands since version 3.23 (HANDLER). But now, you can use Memcache’s NoSQL commands to write (store) data in the cache and, of course, read (retrieve) that data, and also delete them.
MySQL 5.6 is much faster than MySQL 5.5, with simpler and smarter replication, and better and more intuitive instrumentation. However, these topics will be covered later.
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