SELECT @@version;
@@version
my_favorite_version
1
select * from information_schema.system_variables where variable_name='version';
VARIABLE_NAME	VERSION
SESSION_VALUE	NULL
GLOBAL_VALUE	my_favorite_version
GLOBAL_VALUE_ORIGIN	COMMAND-LINE
DEFAULT_VALUE	NULL
VARIABLE_SCOPE	GLOBAL
VARIABLE_TYPE	VARCHAR
VARIABLE_COMMENT	Server version number. It may also include a suffix with configuration or build information. -debug indicates debugging support was enabled on the server, and -log indicates at least one of the binary log, general log or slow query log are enabled, for example 10.1.1-MariaDB-mariadb1precise-log.
NUMERIC_MIN_VALUE	NULL
NUMERIC_MAX_VALUE	NULL
NUMERIC_BLOCK_SIZE	NULL
ENUM_VALUE_LIST	NULL
READ_ONLY	YES
COMMAND_LINE_ARGUMENT	NULL
GLOBAL_VALUE_PATH	NULL