I've set up PHPMyAdmin on a Mac, and it's complaining that it can't load the 'mcrypt' function(s). Apparently the stock install of PHP on Macs doesn't have it.
Can anyone tell me what the implications are? Neither the PHPMyAdmin documentation or the PHP documentation seems to tell me what kind of problem, if any, this will cause me.
This is just a local, personal, database, by the way. Not production, never will be.
http://www.phpmyadmin.net/documentation/ says:
When using the "cookie" authentication method, the mcrypt extension is strongly suggested for most users and is required for 64–bit machines. Not using mcrypt will cause phpMyAdmin to load pages significantly slower.
Just a note of experience: I know this message very well, I have seen in many times and some of my phpmyadmin installations still show it, I have never bothered and it never had a negative impact on my work. According to Volkers answer, I would probably have saved some waiting time but all in all it's not a crucial issue.