MySQL Bugs: #99806: replace master/slave terminology with primary/replica

Bug #99806	replace master/slave terminology with primary/replica
Submitted:	8 Jun 2020 16:30	Modified:	8 Jun 2020 18:12
Reporter:	Steve David	Email Updates:
Status:	Verified	Impact on me:	None
Category:	MySQL Server: Replication	Severity:	S3 (Non-critical)
Version:		OS:	Any
Assigned to:		CPU Architecture:	Any

Description:
master/slave terminology is offensive and should be replaced with something more appropriate, such as primary/replica.  

Some technology vendors have already done so.  See wikipedia page here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master/slave_(technology)

How to repeat:
View any documentation page about replication in general, for example:
https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.0/en/replication-options-slave.html

Or, view documentation for command line operations, ie. 'start slave', etc:
https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/replication-administration-pausing.html#:~:text=my....

Suggested fix:
I would suggest starting with changing documentation such that 'master' is replaced with 'primary' and 'slave' is replaced with 'replica'.

sql commands and configuration settings should be changed accordingly.   ie. 'start slave' should be replaced with 'start replica', etc.   existing variables, commands, etc can continue to be honored for backward compatibility to facilitate migration to the new terminology over time.

Hi Steve,

Thanks for your suggestion
==Omer

It is worth noting that MySQL Enterprise Monitor uses the terms "source" and "replica". That said, from an application point of view, I find that "primary" and "replica" makes more sense as the application may have its own source (e.g. ingesting data sourced from CSV files into the primary database instance).

See also: https://twitter.com/MarkLeith/status/1272291415196930048

I added a bug https://bugs.mysql.com/bug.php?id=99956 (when my search failed to find this one) which I've now closed as duplicate. I had some more links as to why this was a good idea, and a suggested migration path.

Even just adding alternative language as a possibility would give benefit. It would enable those of us who want to keep our source code free of oppressive terminology the choice of using different language.

I found the blog of Replication Team's.

Please, PLEASE change them **in 9.0**, **NOT in 8.0** !!!

MySQL Terminology Updates | MySQL High Availability https://mysqlhighavailability.com/mysql-terminology-updates/

I think this was addressed in MySQL 8.0.23, wasn't it?

Work is still ongoing, there are many locations where the legacy terminology is used. 

For example, in 8.0.26 a lot of changes can be found https://dev.mysql.com/doc/relnotes/mysql/8.0/en/news-8-0-26.html

Content of https://mysqlhighavailability.com/mysql-terminology-updates/ is not available anymore

@Sveta: The link should work again now. Thanks for reporting!