MariaDB versus MySQL

MariaDB is a binary drop in replacement for MySQL For all practical purposes, MariaDB is a binary drop in replacement of the same MySQL version (for example MySQL 5.1 ->  MariaDB 5.1 ,  MariaDB 5.2  &  MariaDB 5.3 are compatible. MySQL 5.5 will be compatible with MariaDB 5.5 ). What this means is that: Data and table definition files (.frm) files are binary compatible. All client APIs, protocols and structs are identical. All filenames, binaries, paths, ports, sockets, and etc... should be the same. All MySQL connectors (PHP, …