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PolarDB:SQL limits

Last Updated:Mar 28, 2026

PolarDB-X 1.0 is highly compatible with the MySQL protocol and SQL syntax. However, the distributed architecture introduces constraints that do not apply to single-instance MySQL databases. This page lists all SQL statements and features that PolarDB-X 1.0 does not support.

General limits

The following MySQL features are unsupported due to the distributed nature of PolarDB-X 1.0. Distributed execution requires that all operations be decomposable and routable across shards, which makes server-side procedural constructs and stateful session objects incompatible by design.

FeatureDetails
Custom data types
User-defined functions (UDFs)
Stored procedures
Triggers
Cursors
Temporary tables
Compound statementsBEGIN...END, LOOP...END LOOP, REPEAT...UNTIL...END REPEAT, WHILE...DO...END WHILE
Flow control statementsIF, WHILE
Foreign keys

Data definition language (DDL)

The following DDL operations are not supported:

OperationNotes
CREATE TABLE tbl_name LIKE old_tbl_nameNot supported for sharded tables
CREATE TABLE tbl_name SELECT ...Not supported for sharded tables
RENAME TABLE for multiple tables
ALTER TABLE to change shard key fields
Cross-schema DDL, e.g., CREATE TABLE db_name.tbl_name (...)DDL must operate within a single schema

For more information, see DDL.

Data manipulation language (DML)

The following DML operations are not supported:

OperationNotes
SELECT INTO OUTFILE, INTO DUMPFILE, INTO var_nameFile and variable output is not supported
STRAIGHT_JOIN, NATURAL JOIN
Subqueries in UPDATE SET clauses
INSERT DELAYED
Variable references in SQL, e.g., SET @c=1, @d=@c+1; SELECT @c, @d
INSERT, REPLACE, UPDATE, or DELETE on broadcast tables in flexible transactions

For more information, see DML.

Subqueries

The following subquery patterns are not supported:

PatternNotes
Subqueries in HAVING or JOIN ON clauses
ROW functions in scalar subqueries that use = as the operator

For more information, see Subqueries.

Database management

The following statement combinations are not supported:

StatementNotes
SHOW WARNINGS with LIMIT and COUNT
SHOW ERRORS with LIMIT and COUNT

Operators

The assignment operator ':=' is not supported.

For more information, see Operators.

Functions

The following function categories are not supported:

CategoryMySQL reference
Full-text search functionsFull-text search functions
XML functionsXML functions
Global transaction identifier (GTID) functionsFunctions used with global transaction identifiers (GTIDs)
MySQL Enterprise Encryption functionsMySQL Enterprise Encryption

For a list of supported functions, see Functions.

Keywords

The following keywords are not supported:

  • MILLISECOND

  • MICROSECOND