MySQL 9.6 Changes Foreign Key Constraints and Cascade Handling

MySQL is changing the way foreign key constraints and cascades are managed. Starting with MySQL 9.6, foreign key validation and cascade actions are handled by the SQL layer rather than the InnoDB storage engine. This will improve change tracking, replication accuracy, and data consistency, making MySQL more reliable for CDC pipelines, mixed-database environments, and analytics workloads.

By Renato Losio