Anyone know when ipb will officially support mysql 5?

I think MySQL5 support comes in IPB 2.2. :)

Yes, MySQL 5 will be supported in 2.2 (already completed).

What advantages does MySQL 5 have over MySQL 4?

Yes, MySQL 5 will be supported in 2.2 (already completed).

Has it been completely tested too, and all features work perfectly (well the same in v4 anyway) in MySQL 5? Were a lot of changes required?

I would have tested it on MySQL 5 it but it expired before I had the chance, so when we're sent the rebuild I will run through it just to check for myself.

Has it been completely tested too, and all features work perfectly (well the same in v4 anyway) in MySQL 5? Were a lot of changes required?

I would have tested it on MySQL 5 it but it expired before I had the chance, so when we're sent the rebuild I will run through it just to check for myself.

To my knowlege there are not current issues even in IPB 2.1.6, there is one thing I should say, while it works it does NOT take advantage of any of the changes.

There isn't really anything to test, it either works or it doesn't. MySQL 5.0.x has been in a test phase for at least 2 years, it just was made a stable release in the last 5 months. There shouldn't be any issues, I have no issues with MySQL 5.0.x even now.

Matt has tested it (and Dynamic) on MySQL 5 (I'm still running MySQL 4 locally so we can have a broader testbed overall). Really, like Dark Phantom said, it either works or it doesn't.

There were a few changes yes - mainly in the way queries were structured (you don't select from multiple tables the same way - you have to join them properly). Though, as he said, it does not take advantage of Stored Procedures, Views, or any of the other newer features.

I'm still wanting the IPB MySQLi driver with bound paramaters and bound results .. then you would really see IPB fly :P

Greater speed. Enhancements in both the extension and in MySQL have made most operations faster, with certain operations becoming up to 40 times faster as compared to ext/mysql.