Semantic changes in configuration files are problematic in MySQL for the same reasons they are problematic in PHP (the only other language that seems to do that

Semantic changes in configuration files are problematic in MySQL for the same reasons they are problematic in PHP (the only other language that seems to do that): * Your application then no longer works properly on a default install. Possibly in very subtle ways that you won't notice. * Upstream will never make your settings the default. It would break too many applications, so you are on your own with those settings pretty much forever. * Few users use non-default settings, so you are more likely to run into strange behaviors that are either bugs or can't be readily explained in a forum. * Just imagine if you are trying to support multiple applications that each have their own settings they prefer. Especially if you want to integrate your data together at all, which is one of the main purposes of a database system.