February 4, 2026
Cascades hit the fan
No More Hidden Changes: How MySQL 9.6 Transforms Foreign Key Management
Every change now shows up in logs — fans cheer, skeptics say ‘just use MariaDB’
TLDR: MySQL 9.6 moves hidden foreign key actions into the main engine so every change is logged and replicates reliably. The community loves the fix but splits over trust: some cheer the cleaner data trail, others blast Oracle’s docs and point to GitHub silence while saying “just use MariaDB.”
MySQL just pulled a classic plot twist: in version 9.6, those “invisible” chain reactions when you delete or update rows (called foreign key cascades) are no longer happening in the basement. They’re now enforced by the main SQL engine so every change is logged, auditable, and replicates cleanly. Translation: fewer “ghost edits,” fewer headaches for backups, analytics, and Change Data Capture (CDC — tools that track every change).
Cue the crowd. The ops folks are hyped: one user says this finally fixes their clunky attempt to sync MySQL to DuckDB without a giant CDC setup. Veterans like sc68cal are on board, calling it a solid move and hoping other MySQL forks pick it up. But the drama? Oh, it’s Oracle-flavored. exabrial points to “0 commits in 2026” on GitHub and claims people are eyeing MariaDB or Postgres instead, while another commenter deadpans, “yeah but it’s Oracle. You want MariaDB now.” Others slam the thin documentation, saying two weeks after release the new setting is barely explained — not a great look for a big change.
MySQL insists performance is basically unchanged and behavior stays the same, which calms some nerves. But the mood is split: teams who live and die by clean logs are cheering, and the open‑source crowd is side‑eyeing Oracle’s stewardship. The meme of the day: “The binlog won’t ghost you anymore,” but some still ask, “Do we trust the landlord or start house‑hunting” link.
Key Points
- •MySQL 9.6 moves foreign key checks and cascades from InnoDB to the SQL engine.
- •Previously, cascaded child-row changes were invisible to the SQL layer and missing from binary logs under RBR.
- •The new approach makes all foreign key operations fully visible, auditable, and logged, improving replication and analytics.
- •Benchmarks show no observable performance regression; throughput and latency remain nearly identical to the InnoDB approach.
- •Implementation preserves InnoDB semantics for full backward compatibility; other engines continue their own enforcement.