Why MyISAM Is Being Phased Out in MySQL 8.0 and What It Means for You
MyISAM, the original MySQL storage engine used for over two decades, is now limited and discouraged in MySQL 8.0 due to its lack of transactions, table‑level locking, and crash recovery, with InnoDB taking over its former advantages.
MyISAM has been around for 20 years; it was the only storage engine in MySQL when it was introduced in 1995 and has served for more than two decades.
MySQL 5.7 still uses MyISAM for system tables, but MySQL 8.0 introduced a new data dictionary, so system tables no longer rely on MyISAM, and its usage is heavily restricted (e.g., copying a MyISAM table to a running server is prohibited).
In MySQL 8.0 you can only create a table with ENGINE=MyISAM and use it as before.
MyISAM is being retired because of inherent weaknesses such as lack of transactions, table‑level locking, and no crash recovery. Its former advantages have been largely superseded by InnoDB, which now provides those features.
Consequently, MyISAM in MySQL 8.0 is marked as Not recommended .
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