don't call it UTF8! While I don’t know the history of MySQL, it seems to me that when they implemented it, their implementation was indeed in compliance with t

don't call it UTF8! While I don’t know the history of MySQL, it seems to me that when they implemented it, their implementation was indeed in compliance with the standard (Unicode 3). The standard has since grown from 16 to 32 bit code points. Why MySQL had to introduce a new name for the UTF-8 encoded tables that can contain 32 bit code points is strange, but I assume there is a technical explanation (probably having to do with binary compatibility with existing tables / MySQL drivers or similar).