Re: how to execute a SET GLOBAL right after start of service?

[Rick James]

This setting seems to be a kludge for certain ODBC-based applications.

See bugs
http://bugs.mysql.com/bug.php?id=47119
http://bugs.mysql.com/bug.php?id=41371
http://bugs.mysql.com/bug.php?id=47005

Changelog for 5.5.3:
----- 2010-03-24 5.5.3 Milestone 3 -- Bugs Fixed -- Incompatible Change -----

For application compatibility reasons, when sql_auto_is_null ( http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.5/en/server-system-variables.html#sysvar_sql_auto_is_null ) is 1, MySQL converts auto_inc_col IS NULL to auto_inc_col = LAST_INSERT_ID(). However, this was being done regardless of whether the predicate was alone or at the top level. Now it occurs only when it is a single top-level predicate.

In conjunction with this bug fix, the default value of the sql_auto_is_null ( http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.5/en/server-system-variables.html#sysvar_sql_auto_is_null ) system variable has been changed from 1 to 0, which may cause incompatibilities with existing applications. (Bug #41371)

In 5.5.3, sql_auto_is_null was made GLOBAL as well as SESSION.

Manual page:
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.5/en/server-system-variables.html#sysvar_sql_auto_is_null

The default seems to have changed from 1 to 0 in 5.5.

Here is a related forum thread:
http://forums.mysql.com/read.php?11,627244,627244#msg-627244

If you would like to pursue this further, create a new bug at bugs.mysql.com and reference this thread.