Deprecation Warning: 'VALUES function' in ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE clause in MySQL 8.0.32

Question

When attempting to run an INSERT statement, I encountered the following warning message:

'VALUES function' is deprecated and will be removed in a future release. Please use an alias (INSERT INTO ... VALUES (...) AS alias) and replace VALUES(col) in the ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE clause with alias.colinstead

I am currently using MySQL version 8.0.32, and I would like to know when support for this function will be removed and in which version this change will take effect.

• Akina: when support for this function will be removed The most recent version (9.2) uses this function yet. I think that it won't be removed until version 10 at least.

Answer 1

This VALUES feature is marked as follows in the docs:

Note

The use of VALUES() to refer to the new row and columns is deprecated, and subject to removal in a future version of MySQL. Instead, use row and column aliases, as described in the next few paragraphs of this section.

There is never a firm date on removal of features that are marked as deprecated. Consider yourself warned: it's subject to removal, so don't use it in new code, and make a point of removing it from old code.

From the latest announcements in the blog:

Deprecation & Removal of Features

In previous releases of MySQL, deprecations in one release (e.g., 5.7) meant that the feature could be removed in the next major/minor release (e.g., 8.0). With the introduction of Innovation releases, there will be a lot more major/minor versions, and as a result of that, when deprecations and removals can happen will change.

When a feature or behavior is deprecated in a release (e.g., 9.2 Innovation), the feature cannot be removed for at least one year (until 9.6 Innovation). This is to give users time to modify database deployments when they are running Innovation releases.

Note that there are no removals within an LTS release. Features can be removed (& added) only in the first LTS release (e.g., 8.4.0 LTS) but not later.

As we transition into the new model and move towards the first 8.x LTS release, expect an increase in deprecations and removals.