"they lied to end-users, effectively"
Yeah, that's not exaggeration at all. Because it's not as if they very clearly document exactly what they support:
Yeah, that's not exaggeration at all. Because it's not as if they very clearly document exactly what they support:
Bonus points for the documentation brazenly ignoring that they're implementing something that's not spec-compliant and naming it like it is.
And while, as a Postgres user, my tone here may be a little snide, I also say this with grudging respect: I think there is a point at which implementing n% of a feature X and calling it X (rather than MaybeX or MostlyX) does give you some momentum and practical compatibility that you wouldn't have otherwise. Is it dishonest to hide the limitations regarding the edge cases in some documentation no one will read? Maybe. But will providing the feature solve more problems than it causes? Quite possibly.
I don't agree with MySQL's decision with respect to UTF-8, but I do understand it.