Are MariaDB and MySQL compatible?

I’m a server side newbie, but I have worked with other databases, just not on the web.

I’m starting work on a project that will use MySQL to backfeed data to a series of php web pages. I am about to install XAMPP 7.1.11 on my local Windows 7 CPU and when I looked at the documentation on the Apache Friends download page I noticed that MySQL was not included, but there was a note on the FAQ page:

Since XAMPP 5.5.30 and 5.6.14, XAMPP ships MariaDB instead of MySQL. The commands and tools are the same for both.

7.1.11 includes MariaDB 10.1.28

I don’t plan to upload the actual database to the server after testing. Their FAQ comment seems to indicate that the PHP that I create will be compatible with the MariaDB on my local CPU and also the MySQL database on my host’s web server, GoDaddy.

Should I also install MySQL? Or should I just rely on their FAQ comment they created for previous versions?