XAMP users beware !!!

[Robert Pickering]

I am using

ApacheFriends XAMPP Version 5.6.12

xampp-win32-5.6.12-0-VC11-installer.exe

+ Apache 2.4.4
+ MySQL 5.5.32 (Community Server)
+ PHP 5.6.12

I know this is just a toy for developing (read their own documentation "readme_en.txt"), and not suitable for production systems, but I was in a hurry to get started !

I made the mistake of updating to the latest version in xampp-win32-5.6.14-0-VC11-installer.exe.

This installed MariaDB instead of mySql, and totally failed to allow me to import my database.

No matter what I tried, I got the error:

"ERROR 1728 (HY000) at line 815: Cannot load from mysql.proc. The table is probably corrupted"

I followed every possible link in Google to try to fix it, but gave up and uninstalled it, and will stick with mySql.

In the end I gave up and went back to XAMP 5.6.12, realising that I am wading around in a murky pond in the dark, trying to avoid the next sink hole.

I will eventually be looking at deploying an Android app using PHP and mySQl, and I am looking for advice on best practices to ensure that the system is secure, bulletproof and scaleable.