## Obtaining the mysqlnd plugin API

The `mysqlnd` plugin API is simply part of the MySQL Native Driver PHP extension, `ext/mysqlnd`. Development started on the `mysqlnd` plugin API in December 2009. It is developed as part of the PHP source repository, and as such is available to the public either via Git, or through source snapshot downloads.

Plugin developers can determine the `mysqlnd` version through accessing `MYSQLND_VERSION`, which is a string of the format mysqlnd 8.3.17, or through `MYSQLND_VERSION_ID`, which is an integer such as 50007. Developers can calculate the version number as follows:

MYSQLND_VERSION_ID calculation table
Version (part) | Example
--- | ---
Major*10000 | 5*10000 = 50000
Minor*100 | 0*100 = 0
Patch | 7 = 7
MYSQLND_VERSION_ID | 50007

During development, developers should refer to the `mysqlnd` version number for compatibility and version tests, as several iterations of `mysqlnd` could occur during the lifetime of a PHP development branch with a single PHP version number.

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