FWH installation provides both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of libmysql.dll and libmariadb.dll, in the fwh\dll folder.
FWH also provides both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of libmysql.lib and libmariadb.lib for both bcc7 and msvc in the \fwh\lib folder.
For building a native 64-bit FWH application, you need to use 64-bit versions of the dlls and libs/dlls. For building 32-bit FWH application you need to use 32-bit versions of the libs/dlls/
FWH provides what all you need whether you want to build 32-bit or 64-bit application using either bcc or msvc and either xharbour or harbour.
With versions of MySql prior to 8.0, both libmysql.dll and libmariadb.dll work either with MySql server or MariaDB server.
All libraries like TMySql, Dolphin and FWH's internal library use libmysql.dll or libmariadb.dll.
If you can connect with one of them you can connect with other libraries also.
Now, what is the difference with MySQL 8.0 version?
When installing MySQL 8.0.?? you will see this screen "Authentication Method"
If you select the second option i.e.,
Use Legacy Authentication Method (Retain MySQL 5.x compatibility)we can safely connect using our existing libmysql.dll and libmysql.lib whether we use TMySql or Dolphin or FWH's internal library.
We recommend using the second option and your present applications using dolphin, tmysql or fwh libraries will continue to work without any changes.
Note: From version 8.0 onwards, the libmariadb.dll will not be able to connect to mysql server even if we use Legacy Authentication method.
If you have already installed MySQL 8.0 server using the first option, you can now change by running "MySQL Installer" again and selecting "Reconfigure".
I personally recommend this. If you do this all your existing applications will continue to run as they are.
What if we select the first option?Earlier versions of libmysql.dll do not connect. We need to use the latest clients released with this version.
When I installed I got libmysql.dll for 64-bits only but till now I could not download the 32-bit dll. Even with 64-bit dll, we are facing some issues of connectivity and we are yet to resolve these issues.
We, therefore, recommend reconfiguring the server to use Legacy Connectivity and continue to use your applications.
Note: Latest FWH libs provide some changes to use some of the latest features of MySql 8.0, which, of course, are not required for normal use.