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Versions 3.23 and 4.0 of the popular open source database will soon reach their end-of-life dates this year.

MySQL will see off support for older versions of the database this year. InfoWorld reported August 1st will be the end-of-life for version 3.23, while October 1st marks the end of version 4.0.

Keeping support going for older versions of software while developing new versions proves costly over time. Kaj Arn, VP Community for MySQL AB, blogged about the company's clarification of end of life dates for MySQL, and why they have made this difficult choice:

Many of our users know that the cost of maintaining several releases is high. We have thus been asked to clarify our support lifecycle policy. After long internal discussions, that were not always easy, we are now pleased to say that we have an explicit support lifecycle policy. It addresses the timeframes we will provide updates and continued support for current and older versions of the MySQL server.

Keeping older versions alive for a long time is appreciated by our community and our customers alike. However, we are no longer in a position to maintain our older versions without remuneration.
Arn noted that users of those versions reaching end-of-life would not have binary updates provided on a publicly available basis, though their sources will still be available.

Given the length of time since the release of 3.23, at the beginning of 2001, it's likely many sites that once depended on that older edition have long since upgraded to a more current release.

Once active lifecycle support ends for 3.23 and 4.0 as noted previously, both versions enter a three year extended lifecycle support phase. MySQL will provide only security and Severity Level 1 fixes during the extended period.

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David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.