MySQL Bugs: #92928: WorkBench defaults to incompatibility with MySQL Server pre 8.x

Bug #92928	WorkBench defaults to incompatibility with MySQL Server pre 8.x
Submitted:	24 Oct 2018 12:51	Modified:	4 Mar 2019 22:45
Reporter:	Jan Ingvoldstad	Email Updates:
Status:	Closed	Impact on me:	None
Category:	MySQL Workbench	Severity:	S2 (Serious)
Version:	8.0.13	OS:	Any
Assigned to:		CPU Architecture:	Any

Description:
Please ensure that MySQL Workbench does not provide unnecessary warnings or generate error conditions with other versions that use a version of the MySQL protocol that is still supported through extended support.

Here are two concrete issues I have identified so far:

1) Server connections

In MySQL Workbench 8.0.13, and presumably other versions in the 8.0 series, it defaults to provide a warning about "other" MySQL versions, despite being under support or extended support.

This is an issue because Workbench 8.0.13 is a security bugfix release, which means that users of other MySQL versions than 8.x will feel insecure about whether they can safely perform regular database maintenance functions.

2) Data export

When attempting to export a database with Server->Data Export, there is a default under "Advanced Options..." that is only compatible with MySQL Server 8.0.x:

column-statistics - Writing ANALYZE TABLE statements to generate stastistics histograms (set 0 to disable): TRUE

Setting this to FALSE is a work-around, but hard to explain to users.

The default setting should be FALSE, in order to maximize compatibility.

How to repeat:
Test the product with MySQL Server in other, supported versions than 8.x.

Thank you for the bug report.

Jan, what "other" MySQL version do you have in mind here? MySQL Workbench correctly warns about servers it does no longer support. It doesn't matter if there's an extended support phase or anything else. WB supports MySQL 5.6, 5.7 and 8.0 at the moment. For everything else you get a warning.

About "Data Export": this has to do with the use mysqldump version. A specific mysqldump version is valid only for a specific server version. There's no backwards compatibility. WB can only ship one version (and uses the latest one). If you need to export data from an older server (< 8.0) download the mysqldump version that matches it and set it in the WB preferences before you start exporting data.

Mike:

Try MySQL 5.6, or 5.7.

Mike:

Please read the description carefully. This has nothing to do with mysqldump, but with a configuration option default in MySQL Workbench.

For the data export: first it looked to me as if that was the same problem as we fixed here: https://bugs.mysql.com/bug.php?id=91640 and which was asked for instance here: https://serverfault.com/questions/912162/mysqldump-throws-unknown-table-column-statistics-....

For me the new option always defaults to 0 (off), but we have to investigate what's wrong that it sometimes defaults to on.

Posted by developer:
 
Fixed as of the upcoming MySQL Workbench 8.0.16 release, and here's the changelog entry:

The column-statistics option (Advanced Options) was selected by default in
the Administration – Data Export tab, which prevented the successful
export of databases from the 5.6 and 5.7 servers.

Thank you for the bug report.