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      12.9.3 The utf8 Character Set (Deprecated alias for utf8mb3)
     </h3>
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  <p>
   <code class="literal">
    utf8
   </code>
   has been used by MySQL in the past as an
        alias for the
   <code class="literal">
    utf8mb3
   </code>
   character set, but this
        usage is now deprecated; in MySQL 8.4,
   <a class="link" href="show.html" title="15.7.7 SHOW Statements">
    <code class="literal">
     SHOW
    </code>
   </a>
   statements and columns of
   <a class="link" href="information-schema.html" title="Chapter 28 INFORMATION_SCHEMA Tables">
    <code class="literal">
     INFORMATION_SCHEMA
    </code>
   </a>
   tables display
   <code class="literal">
    utf8mb3
   </code>
   instead. For more information, see
   <a class="xref" href="charset-unicode-utf8mb3.html" title="12.9.2 The utf8mb3 Character Set (3-Byte UTF-8 Unicode Encoding)">
    Section 12.9.2, “The utf8mb3 Character Set (3-Byte UTF-8 Unicode Encoding)”
   </a>
   .
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    Note
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   <p>
    The recommended character set for MySQL is
    <code class="literal">
     utf8mb4
    </code>
    . All new applications should use
    <code class="literal">
     utf8mb4
    </code>
    .
   </p>
   <p>
    The
    <code class="literal">
     utf8mb3
    </code>
    character set is deprecated.
    <code class="literal">
     utf8mb3
    </code>
    remains supported for the lifetimes
          of the MySQL 8.0.x and MySQL 8.4.x LTS release series.
   </p>
   <p>
    Expect
    <code class="literal">
     utf8mb3
    </code>
    to be removed in a future
          major release of MySQL.
   </p>
   <p>
    Since changing character sets can be a complex and
          time-consuming task, you should begin to prepare for this
          change now by using
    <code class="literal">
     utf8mb4
    </code>
    for new
          applications. For guidance in converting existing applications
          which use utfmb3, see
    <a class="xref" href="charset-unicode-conversion.html" title="12.9.8 Converting Between 3-Byte and 4-Byte Unicode Character Sets">
     Section 12.9.8, “Converting Between 3-Byte and 4-Byte Unicode Character Sets”
    </a>
    .
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