MySQL and PHP
Copyright 1997-2021 the PHP Documentation Group.
The following is a list of functions provided in the
mysqlnd
plugin API:
mysqlnd_plugin_register()
mysqlnd_plugin_count()
mysqlnd_plugin_get_plugin_connection_data()
mysqlnd_plugin_get_plugin_result_data()
mysqlnd_plugin_get_plugin_stmt_data()
mysqlnd_plugin_get_plugin_net_data()
mysqlnd_plugin_get_plugin_protocol_data()
mysqlnd_conn_get_methods()
mysqlnd_result_get_methods()
mysqlnd_result_meta_get_methods()
mysqlnd_stmt_get_methods()
mysqlnd_net_get_methods()
mysqlnd_protocol_get_methods()
There is no formal definition of what a plugin is and how a plugin mechanism works.
Components often found in plugins mechanisms are:
A plugin manager
A plugin API
Application services (or modules)
Application service APIs (or module APIs)
The mysqlnd
plugin concept employs these
features, and additionally enjoys an open architecture.
No Restrictions
A plugin has full access to the inner workings of
mysqlnd
. There are no security limits or
restrictions. Everything can be overwritten to implement
friendly or hostile algorithms. It is recommended you only
deploy plugins from a trusted source.
As discussed previously, plugins can use pointers freely. These pointers are not restricted in any way, and can point into another plugin's data. Simple offset arithmetic can be used to read another plugin's data.
It is recommended that you write cooperative plugins, and that
you always call the parent method. The plugins should always
cooperate with mysqlnd
itself.
Table 7.13 Issues: an example of chaining and cooperation
Extension | mysqlnd.query() pointer | call stack if calling parent |
---|---|---|
ext/mysqlnd | mysqlnd.query() | mysqlnd.query |
ext/mysqlnd_cache | mysqlnd_cache.query() |
|
ext/mysqlnd_monitor | mysqlnd_monitor.query() |
|
In this scenario, a cache (ext/mysqlnd_cache
)
and a monitor (ext/mysqlnd_monitor
) plugin
are loaded. Both subclass
Connection::query()
. Plugin registration
happens at MINIT
using the logic shown
previously. PHP calls extensions in alphabetical order by
default. Plugins are not aware of each other and do not set
extension dependencies.
By default the plugins call the parent implementation of the query method in their derived version of the method.
PHP Extension Recap
This is a recap of what happens when using an example plugin,
ext/mysqlnd_plugin
, which exposes the
mysqlnd
C plugin API to PHP:
Any PHP MySQL application tries to establish a connection to 192.168.2.29
The PHP application will either use
ext/mysql
, ext/mysqli
or PDO_MYSQL
. All three PHP MySQL
extensions use mysqlnd
to establish the
connection to 192.168.2.29.
Mysqlnd
calls its connect method, which
has been subclassed by
ext/mysqlnd_plugin
.
ext/mysqlnd_plugin
calls the userspace
hook proxy::connect()
registered by the
user.
The userspace hook changes the connection host IP from
192.168.2.29 to 127.0.0.1 and returns the connection
established by parent::connect()
.
ext/mysqlnd_plugin
performs the
equivalent of parent::connect(127.0.0.1)
by calling the original mysqlnd
method
for establishing a connection.
ext/mysqlnd
establishes a connection and
returns to ext/mysqlnd_plugin
.
ext/mysqlnd_plugin
returns as well.
Whatever PHP MySQL extension had been used by the application, it receives a connection to 127.0.0.1. The PHP MySQL extension itself returns to the PHP application. The circle is closed.