Of course! This is a very common point of confusion for developers moving to Python 3. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the history, the current state, and the recommended solutions.

The Short Answer (TL;DR)

For Python 3, the package you should use is mysql-connector-python.

• mysql-python (also known as MySQLdb) is the old library for Python 2. It does not work with Python 3.
• The official, recommended, and actively maintained library from Oracle is mysql-connector-python. It's pure Python, easy to install with pip, and works seamlessly with Python 3.

The Detailed Explanation: The History of MySQL Connectors for Python

To understand why there are multiple options, let's look at the timeline.

The Old Days: MySQLdb (The mysql-python package)

• Era: Primarily for Python 2.
• What it was: A C extension that wrapped the native MySQL C client library (libmysqlclient). This made it very fast.
• The Problem: It was difficult to install because you needed a C compiler and the MySQL development headers (libmysqlclient-dev or mysql-devel) on your system. This was a major hurdle for beginners and on platforms like Windows.
• The Name: The package on PyPI was named mysql-python, which is confusing. The actual module name you imported was MySQLdb.
• Status: Deprecated and incompatible with Python 3. You should avoid this entirely for new projects.

The Gap: mysqlclient

• Era: The bridge between Python 2 and 3.
• What it is: A drop-in replacement for MySQLdb that is compatible with Python 3. It's a fork of the original MySQLdb and is also a C extension.
• Pros: If you have old code that uses import MySQLdb, you can often just switch to mysqlclient with minimal changes. It's very fast, just like its predecessor.
• Cons: It has the same installation difficulty as MySQLdb. You still need a C compiler and the MySQL development headers. This makes it less portable.
• Status: Actively maintained, but installation friction makes it less ideal for most modern projects unless you need maximum performance and have control over the deployment environment.

The Modern Solution: mysql-connector-python

• Era: The official, modern choice for both Python 2 and 3.
• What it is: A pure Python implementation written by Oracle. It does not require the MySQL C client library to be installed on the system.
• Pros:
  • Extremely easy to install: pip install mysql-connector-python
  • Officially supported by Oracle.
  • Works out-of-the-box on all platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux) without compilers.
  • Actively developed and updated.
• Cons:
  • Being pure Python, it can be slightly slower than the C-based mysqlclient. For most web applications and scripts, this performance difference is completely negligible.

Comparison Table

How to Use mysql-connector-python (Python 3 Example)

Here is a simple, complete example of how to connect to a MySQL database and execute a query.

Installation

First, install the library from your terminal or command prompt:

pip install mysql-connector-python

Python Code

import mysql.connector
from mysql.connector import Error
def create_connection(host_name, user_name, user_password, db_name=None):
    """Creates a database connection to a MySQL server."""
    connection = None
    try:
        # If db_name is provided, connect to that specific database.
        # Otherwise, connect to the server without selecting a database.
        if db_name:
            connection = mysql.connector.connect(
                host=host_name,
                user=user_name,
                passwd=user_password,
                database=db_name
            )
        else:
            connection = mysql.connector.connect(
                host=host_name,
                user=user_name,
                passwd=user_password
            )
        print("Connection to MySQL successful" if db_name else "Connection to MySQL server successful")
        return connection
    except Error as e:
        print(f"The error '{e}' occurred")
        return None
def execute_query(connection, query, data=None):
    """Executes a single query."""
    cursor = connection.cursor()
    try:
        if data:
            # Use '%s' as the placeholder, even with numbers
            cursor.execute(query, data)
        else:
            cursor.execute(query)
        connection.commit()
        print("Query executed successfully")
    except Error as e:
        print(f"The error '{e}' occurred")
def fetch_query_results(connection, query):
    """Executes a query and fetches all results."""
    cursor = connection.cursor(dictionary=True) # dictionary=True gives rows as dicts
    try:
        cursor.execute(query)
        result = cursor.fetchall()
        return result
    except Error as e:
        print(f"The error '{e}' occurred")
        return None
# --- Main execution ---
if __name__ == "__main__":
    # Replace with your own database credentials
    db_host = "localhost"
    db_user = "your_username"
    db_password = "your_password"
    database_name = "your_database" # Optional, for connecting directly to a DB
    # --- Example 1: Connect to a specific database and create a table ---
    connection = create_connection(db_host, db_user, db_password, database_name)
    if connection:
        create_table_query = """
        CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS users (
            id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
            name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
            email VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL UNIQUE,
            registration_date DATE
        )
        """
        execute_query(connection, create_table_query)
        # --- Example 2: Insert data into the table ---
        insert_user_query = "INSERT INTO users (name, email, registration_date) VALUES (%s, %s, %s)"
        user_data = ("John Doe", "john.doe@example.com", "2025-10-27")
        execute_query(connection, insert_user_query, user_data)
        # --- Example 3: Fetch and display data ---
        select_users_query = "SELECT * FROM users"
        users = fetch_query_results(connection, select_users_query)
        if users:
            print("\nUsers in the database:")
            for user in users:
                print(user)
        # --- Don't forget to close the connection ---
        connection.close()
        print("\nMySQL connection is closed.")

Other Modern Alternatives

While mysql-connector-python is the official choice, other excellent libraries exist, especially for web frameworks like Django.

• PyMySQL: Another popular pure-Python library. It's very similar to mysql-connector-python in terms of ease of use. Some developers prefer it.
• Django's mysqlclient: The Django framework officially recommends mysqlclient for its best performance with its ORM. However, it provides fallback instructions for mysql-connector-python or PyMySQL if installation is a problem.

Conclusion: For any new Python 3 project, start with mysql-connector-python. It's the official, most straightforward, and hassle-free option.