Solving seeming #ColdFusion / MySQL 5.6 incompatibility, by updating CF's MySQL driver
Summary: There is a reasonable explanation and a rather simple solution: update the MySQL driver that CF is using to at least version 5.1.22 of the driver, the first to support MySQL 5.6, because the one built into CF 10 (driver version 5.1.17) not only does not. More important, that older driver uses something that causes the failure above in 5.6.
That explanation of the "solution" may be enough for some to take the ball and run with it (and if not, I will offer more details on how to do that), though it should be noted that updating the driver is not formally supported, nor is MySQL 5.6 technically supported at all in CF10 (or 9). But for those who will press on knowing that risk, you now know what you need to do.
But as often, there's much more to this than meets the eye, so I hope you will follow along to learn more. I have broken this into two parts:
- the problem (with what I hope is helpful explanation of what the real root of the problem is),
- who's to blame (not Adobe, I will argue)
- and the solution (with some caveats that even experienced folks, or those who don't care about "the problem", should still read.
And again, while I discuss this in the context of CF10, where I've seen the problem happen, it could apply also to CF9 (and it seems reasonable that it would), so all the information still applies, it would seem.
It was also another great example of how things that seem "simple" on the surface have a lot of nuance and subtlety that calls for us all to be more careful in considering various "solutions" offered on the web. It's a frequent source of confusion for many, especially those who come to me when they've exhausted their own searching. :-)
I love to help, and I'm glad we were able to resolve this, and that I was able to share this additional detail for you and others.