diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 1eebfd58..0482dd3f 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -3,6 +3,56 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](http://keepachangelog.com/)
 
+## 5.9.0 - 2021-01-29
+Updated PECL release packages. Here is the list of updates:
+
+### Added
+- Support for PHP 8.0
+- Support for macOS Big Sur, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 20.10 and Alpine 3.12
+- Support for GB18030 locale [#1115](
+https://github.com/microsoft/msphpsql/pull/1115)
+- Feature Request [#924](https://github.com/microsoft/msphpsql/issues/924) - extended PDO errorinfo to include [additional odbc messages if available](https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/connect/php/pdo-errorinfo) - pull request [#1133](
+https://github.com/microsoft/msphpsql/pull/1133)
+- [Data Classification with rank info](https://github.com/microsoft/msphpsql/wiki/Features#dataClass), which requires [MS ODBC Driver 17.4.2+](https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/connect/odbc/download-odbc-driver-for-sql-server) and [SQL Server 2019](https://www.microsoft.com/sql-server/sql-server-2019) or an Azure SQL instance that supports it
+- [Azure Active Directory Service Principal authentication support](https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/connect/php/azure-active-directory), which requires [MS ODBC Driver 17.7+](https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/connect/odbc/download-odbc-driver-for-sql-server)
+
+### Removed
+- Dropped support for PHP 7.2
+- Dropped support for macOS High Sierra, Ubuntu 19.10 and Debian 8
+
+### Fixed
+- Pull Request [#1127](https://github.com/microsoft/msphpsql/pull/1127) - removed TSRMLS macros in preparation for PHP 8 by remicollet
+- Pull Request [#1136](https://github.com/microsoft/msphpsql/pull/1136) - improved performance when handling decimal numbers as inputs or outputs and removed unncessary conversions for numeric values
+- Pull Request [#1143](https://github.com/microsoft/msphpsql/pull/1143) - if an exception occurs when executing a query, it will not change the output parameters
+- Pull Request [#1144](https://github.com/microsoft/msphpsql/pull/1144) - use the correct C types when binding output parameters with integer values
+- Pull Request [#1146](https://github.com/microsoft/msphpsql/pull/1146) - improved performance when fetching numbers using client buffers
+- Pull Request [#1165](https://github.com/microsoft/msphpsql/pull/1165) - set query timeout without using LOCK TIMEOUT, which saves an extra trip to the server
+- Issue [#1170](https://github.com/microsoft/msphpsql/issues/1170) - when fetching large data types such as ntext, check more than only the display size - pull request [#1172](https://github.com/microsoft/msphpsql/pull/1172)
+- Pull Request [#1205](https://github.com/microsoft/msphpsql/pull/1205) - minimized compilation warnings on Linux and macOS 
+- Pull Request [#1209](https://github.com/microsoft/msphpsql/pull/1209) - fixed a bug when fetching varbinary max fields as char or wide chars
+- Issue [#1210](https://github.com/microsoft/msphpsql/issues/1210) - switched from preview to beta terminology to enable Pickle support
+- Issue [#1213](https://github.com/microsoft/msphpsql/issues/1213) - the MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET in config files caused linker errors in macOS Big Sur - Pull Request [#1215](https://github.com/microsoft/msphpsql/pull/1215)
+- Pull Request [#1226](https://github.com/microsoft/msphpsql/pull/1226) - replaced the problematic strlen function 
+- Pull Request [#1227](https://github.com/microsoft/msphpsql/pull/1227) - addressed static code analyis issues
+
+### Limitations
+- No support for inout / output params when using sql_variant type
+- No support for inout / output params when formatting decimal values
+- In Linux and macOS, setlocale() only takes effect if it is invoked before the first connection. Attempting to set the locale after connecting will not work
+- Always Encrypted requires [MS ODBC Driver 17+](https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/connect/odbc/linux-mac/installing-the-microsoft-odbc-driver-for-sql-server)
+  - Only Windows Certificate Store and Azure Key Vault are supported. Custom Keystores are not yet supported
+  - Issue [#716](https://github.com/Microsoft/msphpsql/issues/716) - With Always Encrypted enabled, named parameters in subqueries are not supported
+  - Issue [#1050](https://github.com/microsoft/msphpsql/issues/1050) - With Always Encrypted enabled, insertion requires the column list for any tables with identity columns
+  - [Always Encrypted limitations](https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/connect/php/using-always-encrypted-php-drivers#limitations-of-the-php-drivers-when-using-always-encrypted)
+
+### Known Issues
+- This release requires ODBC Driver 17.4.2 or above. Otherwise, a warning about failing to set an attribute may be suppressed when using an older ODBC driver.
+- Connection pooling on Linux or macOS is not recommended with [unixODBC](http://www.unixodbc.org/) < 2.3.7
+- When pooling is enabled in Linux or macOS
+  - unixODBC <= 2.3.4 (Linux and macOS) might not return proper diagnostic information, such as error messages, warnings and informative messages
+  - due to this unixODBC bug, fetch large data (such as xml, binary) as streams as a workaround. See the examples [here](https://github.com/Microsoft/msphpsql/wiki/Features#pooling)
+
+
 ## 5.9.0-beta2 - 2020-12-02
 Updated PECL release packages. Here is the list of updates:
 
diff --git a/LICENSE b/LICENSE
index a58c37db..6b4b06b4 100644
--- a/LICENSE
+++ b/LICENSE
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-Copyright(c) 2020 Microsoft Corporation
+Copyright(c) 2021 Microsoft Corporation
 All rights reserved.
 
 MIT License
diff --git a/Linux-mac-install.md b/Linux-mac-install.md
index 2c82d003..7c2452e2 100644
--- a/Linux-mac-install.md
+++ b/Linux-mac-install.md
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
 # Linux and macOS Installation Tutorial for the Microsoft Drivers for PHP for SQL Server
-The following instructions assume a clean environment and show how to install PHP 7.3+, the Microsoft ODBC driver, the Apache web server, and the Microsoft Drivers for PHP for SQL Server on Ubuntu 16.04, 18.04, and 20.04, RedHat 7 and 8, Debian 9 and 10, Suse 12 and 15, Alpine 3.11 and 3.12, and macOS 10.13, 10.14, and 10.15. These instructions advise installing the drivers using PECL, but you can also download the prebuilt binaries from the [Microsoft Drivers for PHP for SQL Server](https://github.com/Microsoft/msphpsql/releases) Github project page and install them following the instructions in [Loading the Microsoft Drivers for PHP for SQL Server](https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/connect/php/loading-the-php-sql-driver). For an explanation of extension loading and why we do not add the extensions to php.ini, see the section on [loading the drivers](https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/connect/php/loading-the-php-sql-driver#loading-the-driver-at-php-startup).
+The following instructions assume a clean environment and show how to install PHP 8.0, the Microsoft ODBC driver, the Apache web server, and the Microsoft Drivers for PHP for SQL Server on Ubuntu 16.04, 18.04, and 20.04, RedHat 7 and 8, Debian 9 and 10, Suse 12 and 15, Alpine 3.11 and 3.12, and macOS 10.14, 10.15, and 11.0. These instructions advise installing the drivers using PECL, but you can also download the prebuilt binaries from the [Microsoft Drivers for PHP for SQL Server](https://github.com/Microsoft/msphpsql/releases) Github project page and install them following the instructions in [Loading the Microsoft Drivers for PHP for SQL Server](https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/connect/php/loading-the-php-sql-driver). For an explanation of extension loading and why we do not add the extensions to php.ini, see the section on [loading the drivers](https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/connect/php/loading-the-php-sql-driver#loading-the-driver-at-php-startup).
 
-The following instructions install PHP 8.0 by default using `pecl install` if PHP 8.0 packages are available. You may need to run `pecl channel-update pecl.php.net` first. Note that some supported Linux distros default to PHP 7.1 or earlier, which is not supported for the latest version of the PHP drivers for SQL Server -- please see the notes at the beginning of each section to install PHP 7.4 or 7.3 instead.
+The following instructions install PHP 8.0 by default using `pecl install`, if the PHP 8.0 packages are available. You may need to run `pecl channel-update pecl.php.net` first. Note that some supported Linux distros default to PHP 7.1 or earlier, which is not supported for the latest version of the PHP drivers for SQL Server -- please see the notes at the beginning of each section to install PHP 7.4 or 7.3 instead.
 
-Also included are instructions for installing the PHP FastCGI Process Manager, PHP-FPM, on Ubuntu. This is needed if using the nginx web server instead of Apache.
+Also included are instructions for installing the PHP FastCGI Process Manager, PHP-FPM, on Ubuntu. This is needed if you are using the nginx web server instead of Apache.
 
-## Contents of this page:
+While these instructions contain commands to install both SQLSRV and PDO_SQLSRV drivers, the drivers can be installed and function independently. Users comfortable with customizing their configuration can adjust these instructions to be specific to SQLSRV or PDO_SQLSRV. Both drivers have the same dependencies except where noted below.
+
+## Contents of this page
 
 - [Installing the drivers on Ubuntu 16.04, 18.04, and 20.04](#installing-the-drivers-on-ubuntu-1604-1804-and-2004)
 - [Installing the drivers with PHP-FPM on Ubuntu](#installing-the-drivers-with-php-fpm-on-ubuntu)
@@ -13,7 +15,7 @@ Also included are instructions for installing the PHP FastCGI Process Manager, P
 - [Installing the drivers on Debian 9 and 10](#installing-the-drivers-on-debian-9-and-10)
 - [Installing the drivers on Suse 12 and 15](#installing-the-drivers-on-suse-12-and-15)
 - [Installing the drivers on Alpine 3.11 and 3.12](#installing-the-drivers-on-alpine-311-and-312)
-- [Installing the drivers on macOS High Sierra, Mojave, and Catalina](#installing-the-drivers-on-macos-high-sierra-mojave-and-catalina)
+- [Installing the drivers on macOS Mojave, Catalina and Big Sur](#installing-the-drivers-on-macos-mojave-catalina-and-big-sur)
 
 ## Installing the drivers on Ubuntu 16.04, 18.04, and 20.04
 
@@ -28,12 +30,12 @@ apt-get update
 apt-get install php8.0 php8.0-dev php8.0-xml -y --allow-unauthenticated
 ```
 ### Step 2. Install prerequisites
-Install the ODBC driver for Ubuntu by following the instructions on [Install the Microsoft ODBC driver for SQL Server (Linux)](https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/connect/odbc/linux-mac/installing-the-microsoft-odbc-driver-for-sql-server?view=sql-server-ver15).
+Install the ODBC driver for Ubuntu by following the instructions on the [Install the Microsoft ODBC driver for SQL Server (Linux)](https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/connect/odbc/linux-mac/installing-the-microsoft-odbc-driver-for-sql-server?view=sql-server-ver15).
 
 ### Step 3. Install the PHP drivers for Microsoft SQL Server
-```
-sudo pecl install sqlsrv-5.9.0beta2
-sudo pecl install pdo_sqlsrv-5.9.0beta2
+```bash
+sudo pecl install sqlsrv
+sudo pecl install pdo_sqlsrv
 sudo su
 printf "; priority=20\nextension=sqlsrv.so\n" > /etc/php/8.0/mods-available/sqlsrv.ini
 printf "; priority=30\nextension=pdo_sqlsrv.so\n" > /etc/php/8.0/mods-available/pdo_sqlsrv.ini
@@ -44,7 +46,7 @@ sudo phpenmod -v 8.0 sqlsrv pdo_sqlsrv
 If there is only one PHP version in the system, then the last step can be simplified to `phpenmod sqlsrv pdo_sqlsrv`.
 
 ### Step 4. Install Apache and configure driver loading
-```
+```bash
 sudo su
 apt-get install libapache2-mod-php8.0 apache2
 a2dismod mpm_event
@@ -53,7 +55,7 @@ a2enmod php8.0
 exit
 ```
 ### Step 5. Restart Apache and test the sample script
-```
+```bash
 sudo service apache2 restart
 ```
 To test your installation, see [Testing your installation](#testing-your-installation) at the end of this document.
@@ -68,20 +70,20 @@ To test your installation, see [Testing your installation](#testing-your-install
 sudo su
 add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php -y
 apt-get update
-apt-get install php8.0 php8.0-dev php8.0-xml -y --allow-unauthenticated
+apt-get install php8.0 php8.0-dev php8.0-fpm php8.0-xml -y --allow-unauthenticated
 ```
 Verify the status of the PHP-FPM service by running
-```
+```bash
 systemctl status php8.0-fpm
 ```
 ### Step 2. Install prerequisites
-Install the ODBC driver for Ubuntu by following the instructions on [Install the Microsoft ODBC driver for SQL Server (Linux)](https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/connect/odbc/linux-mac/installing-the-microsoft-odbc-driver-for-sql-server?view=sql-server-ver15).
+Install the ODBC driver for Ubuntu by following the instructions on the [Install the Microsoft ODBC driver for SQL Server (Linux)](https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/connect/odbc/linux-mac/installing-the-microsoft-odbc-driver-for-sql-server?view=sql-server-ver15).
 
 ### Step 3. Install the PHP drivers for Microsoft SQL Server
-```
+```bash
 sudo pecl config-set php_ini /etc/php/8.0/fpm/php.ini
-sudo pecl install sqlsrv-5.9.0beta2
-sudo pecl install pdo_sqlsrv-5.9.0beta2
+sudo pecl install sqlsrv
+sudo pecl install pdo_sqlsrv
 sudo su
 printf "; priority=20\nextension=sqlsrv.so\n" > /etc/php/8.0/mods-available/sqlsrv.ini
 printf "; priority=30\nextension=pdo_sqlsrv.so\n" > /etc/php/8.0/mods-available/pdo_sqlsrv.ini
@@ -91,16 +93,16 @@ sudo phpenmod -v 8.0 sqlsrv pdo_sqlsrv
 If there is only one PHP version in the system, then the last step can be simplified to `phpenmod sqlsrv pdo_sqlsrv`.
 
 Verify that `sqlsrv.ini` and `pdo_sqlsrv.ini` are located in `/etc/php/8.0/fpm/conf.d/`:
-```
+```bash
 ls /etc/php/8.0/fpm/conf.d/*sqlsrv.ini
 ```
 Restart the PHP-FPM service:
-```
+```bash
 sudo systemctl restart php8.0-fpm
 ```
 
 ### Step 4. Install and configure nginx
-```
+```bash
 sudo apt-get update
 sudo apt-get install nginx
 sudo systemctl status nginx
@@ -110,7 +112,7 @@ To configure nginx, you must edit the `/etc/nginx/sites-available/default` file.
 # Add index.php to the list if you are using PHP
 index index.html index.htm index.nginx-debian.html index.php;
 ```
-Next, modify the section following `# pass PHP scripts to FastCGI server` as follows:
+Next, uncomment and modify the section following `# pass PHP scripts to FastCGI server` as follows:
 ```
 # pass PHP scripts to FastCGI server
 #
@@ -120,7 +122,7 @@ location ~ \.php$ {
 }
 ```
 ### Step 5. Restart nginx and test the sample script
-```
+```bash
 sudo systemctl restart nginx.service
 ```
 To test your installation, see [Testing your installation](#testing-your-installation) at the end of this document.
@@ -132,7 +134,7 @@ To test your installation, see [Testing your installation](#testing-your-install
 To install PHP on Red Hat 7, run the following:
 > [!NOTE]
 > To install PHP 7.4 or 7.3, replace remi-php80 with remi-php74 or remi-php73 respectively in the following commands.
-```
+```bash
 sudo su
 yum install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-7.noarch.rpm
 yum install https://rpms.remirepo.net/enterprise/remi-release-7.rpm
@@ -140,13 +142,14 @@ subscription-manager repos --enable=rhel-7-server-optional-rpms
 yum install yum-utils
 yum-config-manager --enable remi-php80
 yum update
+# Note: The php-pdo package is required only for the PDO_SQLSRV driver
 yum install php php-pdo php-xml php-pear php-devel re2c gcc-c++ gcc
 ```
 
 To install PHP on Red Hat 8, run the following:
 > [!NOTE]
 > To install PHP 7.4 or 7.3, replace remi-8.0 with remi-7.4 or remi-7.3 respectively in the following commands.
-```
+```bash
 sudo su
 dnf install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-8.noarch.rpm
 dnf install https://rpms.remirepo.net/enterprise/remi-release-8.rpm
@@ -155,16 +158,17 @@ dnf module reset php
 dnf module install php:remi-8.0
 subscription-manager repos --enable codeready-builder-for-rhel-8-x86_64-rpms
 dnf update
+# Note: The php-pdo package is required only for the PDO_SQLSRV driver
 dnf install php-pdo php-pear php-devel
 ```
 
 ### Step 2. Install prerequisites
-Install the ODBC driver for Red Hat 7 or 8 by following the instructions on [Install the Microsoft ODBC driver for SQL Server (Linux)](https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/connect/odbc/linux-mac/installing-the-microsoft-odbc-driver-for-sql-server?view=sql-server-ver15).
+Install the ODBC driver for Red Hat 7 or 8 by following the instructions on the [Install the Microsoft ODBC driver for SQL Server (Linux)](https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/connect/odbc/linux-mac/installing-the-microsoft-odbc-driver-for-sql-server?view=sql-server-ver15).
 
 ### Step 3. Install the PHP drivers for Microsoft SQL Server
-```
-sudo pecl install sqlsrv-5.9.0beta2
-sudo pecl install pdo_sqlsrv-5.9.0beta2
+```bash
+sudo pecl install sqlsrv
+sudo pecl install pdo_sqlsrv
 sudo su
 echo extension=pdo_sqlsrv.so >> `php --ini | grep "Scan for additional .ini files" | sed -e "s|.*:\s*||"`/30-pdo_sqlsrv.ini
 echo extension=sqlsrv.so >> `php --ini | grep "Scan for additional .ini files" | sed -e "s|.*:\s*||"`/20-sqlsrv.ini
@@ -172,19 +176,19 @@ exit
 ```
 
 You can alternatively install from the Remi repo:
-```
+```bash
 sudo yum install php-sqlsrv
 ```
 ### Step 4. Install Apache
-```
+```bash
 sudo yum install httpd
 ```
 SELinux is installed by default and runs in Enforcing mode. To allow Apache to connect to databases through SELinux, run the following command:
-```
+```bash
 sudo setsebool -P httpd_can_network_connect_db 1
 ```
 ### Step 5. Restart Apache and test the sample script
-```
+```bash
 sudo apachectl restart
 ```
 To test your installation, see [Testing your installation](#testing-your-installation) at the end of this document.
@@ -195,7 +199,7 @@ To test your installation, see [Testing your installation](#testing-your-install
 > To install PHP 7.4 or 7.3, replace 8.0 in the following commands with 7.4 or 7.3.
 
 ### Step 1. Install PHP
-```
+```bash
 sudo su
 apt-get install curl apt-transport-https
 wget -O /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/php.gpg https://packages.sury.org/php/apt.gpg
@@ -204,10 +208,10 @@ apt-get update
 apt-get install -y php8.0 php8.0-dev php8.0-xml php8.0-intl
 ```
 ### Step 2. Install prerequisites
-Install the ODBC driver for Debian by following the instructions on [Install the Microsoft ODBC driver for SQL Server (Linux)](https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/connect/odbc/linux-mac/installing-the-microsoft-odbc-driver-for-sql-server?view=sql-server-ver15). 
+Install the ODBC driver for Debian by following the instructions on the [Install the Microsoft ODBC driver for SQL Server (Linux)](https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/connect/odbc/linux-mac/installing-the-microsoft-odbc-driver-for-sql-server?view=sql-server-ver15). 
 
 You may also need to generate the correct locale to get PHP output to display correctly in a browser. For example, for the en_US UTF-8 locale, run the following commands:
-```
+```bash
 sudo su
 sed -i 's/# en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8/g' /etc/locale.gen
 locale-gen
@@ -215,9 +219,9 @@ locale-gen
 You may need to add `/usr/sbin` to your `$PATH`, as the `locale-gen` executable is located there.
 
 ### Step 3. Install the PHP drivers for Microsoft SQL Server
-```
-sudo pecl install sqlsrv-5.9.0beta2
-sudo pecl install pdo_sqlsrv-5.9.0beta2
+```bash
+sudo pecl install sqlsrv
+sudo pecl install pdo_sqlsrv
 sudo su
 printf "; priority=20\nextension=sqlsrv.so\n" > /etc/php/8.0/mods-available/sqlsrv.ini
 printf "; priority=30\nextension=pdo_sqlsrv.so\n" > /etc/php/8.0/mods-available/pdo_sqlsrv.ini
@@ -228,7 +232,7 @@ sudo phpenmod -v 8.0 sqlsrv pdo_sqlsrv
 If there is only one PHP version in the system, then the last step can be simplified to `phpenmod sqlsrv pdo_sqlsrv`. As with `locale-gen`, `phpenmod` is located in `/usr/sbin` so you may need to add this directory to your `$PATH`.
 
 ### Step 4. Install Apache and configure driver loading
-```
+```bash
 sudo su
 apt-get install libapache2-mod-php8.0 apache2
 a2dismod mpm_event
@@ -236,7 +240,7 @@ a2enmod mpm_prefork
 a2enmod php8.0
 ```
 ### Step 5. Restart Apache and test the sample script
-```
+```bash
 sudo service apache2 restart
 ```
 To test your installation, see [Testing your installation](#testing-your-installation) at the end of this document.
@@ -252,29 +256,29 @@ To test your installation, see [Testing your installation](#testing-your-install
       `https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/languages:/php:/php73/<SuseVersion>/devel:languages:php:php73.repo`.
 
 ### Step 1. Install PHP
-```
+```bash
 sudo su
 zypper -n ar -f https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:languages:php/<SuseVersion>/devel:languages:php.repo
 zypper --gpg-auto-import-keys refresh
 zypper -n install php7 php7-devel php7-openssl
 ```
 ### Step 2. Install prerequisites
-Install the ODBC driver for Suse by following the instructions on [Install the Microsoft ODBC driver for SQL Server (Linux)](https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/connect/odbc/linux-mac/installing-the-microsoft-odbc-driver-for-sql-server?view=sql-server-ver15).
+Install the ODBC driver for Suse by following the instructions on the [Install the Microsoft ODBC driver for SQL Server (Linux)](https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/connect/odbc/linux-mac/installing-the-microsoft-odbc-driver-for-sql-server?view=sql-server-ver15).
 
 ### Step 3. Install the PHP drivers for Microsoft SQL Server
 > [!NOTE]
 > If you get an error message saying `Connection to 'pecl.php.net:443' failed: Unable to find the socket transport "ssl"`, edit the pecl script at /usr/bin/pecl and remove the `-n` switch in the last line. This switch prevents PECL from loading ini files when PHP is called, which prevents the OpenSSL extension from loading.
 
-```
-sudo pecl install sqlsrv-5.9.0beta2
-sudo pecl install pdo_sqlsrv-5.9.0beta2
+```bash
+sudo pecl install sqlsrv
+sudo pecl install pdo_sqlsrv
 sudo su
 echo extension=pdo_sqlsrv.so >> `php --ini | grep "Scan for additional .ini files" | sed -e "s|.*:\s*||"`/pdo_sqlsrv.ini
 echo extension=sqlsrv.so >> `php --ini | grep "Scan for additional .ini files" | sed -e "s|.*:\s*||"`/sqlsrv.ini
 exit
 ```
 ### Step 4. Install Apache and configure driver loading
-```
+```bash
 sudo su
 zypper install apache2 apache2-mod_php7
 a2enmod php7
@@ -283,7 +287,7 @@ echo "extension=pdo_sqlsrv.so" >> /etc/php7/apache2/php.ini
 exit
 ```
 ### Step 5. Restart Apache and test the sample script
-```
+```bash
 sudo systemctl restart apache2
 ```
 To test your installation, see [Testing your installation](#testing-your-installation) at the end of this document.
@@ -291,46 +295,47 @@ To test your installation, see [Testing your installation](#testing-your-install
 ## Installing the drivers on Alpine 3.11 and 3.12
 
 > [!NOTE]
-> The default version of PHP is 7.3. Alternate versions of PHP may be available from other repositories for Alpine. You can instead compile PHP from source.
+> The default version of PHP is 7.3. PHP 7.4 or above may be available from testing or edge repositories for Alpine. You can instead compile PHP from source.
 
 ### Step 1. Install PHP
 PHP packages for Alpine can be found in the `edge/community` repository. Please check [Enable Community Repository](https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/Enable_Community_Repository) on their WIKI page. Add the following line to `/etc/apk/repositories`, replacing `<mirror>` with the URL of an Alpine repository mirror:
-```
+```bash
 http://<mirror>/alpine/edge/community
 ```
 Then run:
-```
+```bash
 sudo su
 apk update
+# Note: The php7-pdo package is required only for the PDO_SQLSRV driver
 apk add php7 php7-dev php7-pear php7-pdo php7-openssl autoconf make g++
 ```
 ### Step 2. Install prerequisites
-Install the ODBC driver for Alpine by following the instructions on [Install the Microsoft ODBC driver for SQL Server (Linux)](https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/connect/odbc/linux-mac/installing-the-microsoft-odbc-driver-for-sql-server?view=sql-server-ver15). 
+Install the ODBC driver for Alpine by following the instructions on the [Install the Microsoft ODBC driver for SQL Server (Linux)](https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/connect/odbc/linux-mac/installing-the-microsoft-odbc-driver-for-sql-server?view=sql-server-ver15). 
 
 ### Step 3. Install the PHP drivers for Microsoft SQL Server
-```
-sudo pecl install sqlsrv-5.9.0beta2
-sudo pecl install pdo_sqlsrv-5.9.0beta2
+```bash
+sudo pecl install sqlsrv
+sudo pecl install pdo_sqlsrv
 sudo su
 echo extension=pdo_sqlsrv.so >> `php --ini | grep "Scan for additional .ini files" | sed -e "s|.*:\s*||"`/10_pdo_sqlsrv.ini
 echo extension=sqlsrv.so >> `php --ini | grep "Scan for additional .ini files" | sed -e "s|.*:\s*||"`/00_sqlsrv.ini
 ```
 
 ### Step 4. Install Apache and configure driver loading
-```
+```bash
 sudo apk add php7-apache2 apache2
 ```
 ### Step 5. Restart Apache and test the sample script
-```
+```bash
 sudo rc-service apache2 restart
 ```
 To test your installation, see [Testing your installation](#testing-your-installation) at the end of this document.
 
 
-## Installing the drivers on macOS High Sierra, Mojave, and Catalina
+## Installing the drivers on macOS Mojave, Catalina and Big Sur
 
 If you do not already have it, install brew as follows:
-```
+```bash
 /usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"
 ```
 
@@ -339,45 +344,45 @@ If you do not already have it, install brew as follows:
 
 ### Step 1. Install PHP
 
-```
+```bash
 brew tap
 brew tap homebrew/core
 brew install php@8.0
 ```
-PHP should now be in your path -- run `php -v` to verify that you are running the correct version of PHP. If PHP is not in your path or it is not the correct version, run the following:
-```
+PHP should now be in your path. Run `php -v` to verify that you are running the correct version of PHP. If PHP is not in your path or it is not the correct version, run the following:
+```bash
 brew link --force --overwrite php@8.0
 ```
 
 ### Step 2. Install prerequisites
-Install the ODBC driver for macOS by following the instructions on [Install the Microsoft ODBC driver for SQL Server (macOS)](
+Install the ODBC driver for macOS by following the instructions on the [Install the Microsoft ODBC driver for SQL Server (macOS)](
 https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/connect/odbc/linux-mac/install-microsoft-odbc-driver-sql-server-macos?view=sql-server-ver15). 
 
 In addition, you may need to install the GNU make tools:
-```
+```bash
 brew install autoconf automake libtool
 ```
 
 ### Step 3. Install the PHP drivers for Microsoft SQL Server
-```
-sudo pecl install sqlsrv-5.9.0beta2
-sudo pecl install pdo_sqlsrv-5.9.0beta2
+```bash
+sudo pecl install sqlsrv
+sudo pecl install pdo_sqlsrv
 ```
 ### Step 4. Install Apache and configure driver loading
-```
+```bash
 brew install apache2
 ```
 To find the Apache configuration file, `httpd.conf`, for your Apache installation, run 
-```
+```bash
 /usr/local/bin/apachectl -V | grep SERVER_CONFIG_FILE
 ``` 
 The following commands append the required configuration to `httpd.conf`. Be sure to substitute the path returned by the preceding command in place of `/usr/local/etc/httpd/httpd.conf`:
-```
+```bash
 echo "LoadModule php7_module /usr/local/opt/php@8.0/lib/httpd/modules/libphp7.so" >> /usr/local/etc/httpd/httpd.conf
 (echo "<FilesMatch .php$>"; echo "SetHandler application/x-httpd-php"; echo "</FilesMatch>";) >> /usr/local/etc/httpd/httpd.conf
 ```
 ### Step 5. Restart Apache and test the sample script
-```
+```bash
 sudo apachectl restart
 ```
 To test your installation, see [Testing your installation](#testing-your-installation) at the end of this document.
@@ -385,7 +390,10 @@ To test your installation, see [Testing your installation](#testing-your-install
 ## Testing Your Installation
 
 To test this sample script, create a file called testsql.php in your system's document root. This is `/var/www/html/` on Ubuntu, Debian, and Redhat, `/srv/www/htdocs` on SUSE, `/var/www/localhost/htdocs` on Alpine, or `/usr/local/var/www` on macOS. Copy the following script to it, replacing the server, database, username, and password as appropriate.
-```
+
+### SQLSRV example
+
+```php
 <?php
 $serverName = "yourServername";
 $connectionOptions = array(
@@ -394,6 +402,15 @@ $connectionOptions = array(
     "pwd" => "yourPassword"
 );
 
+function exception_handler($exception) {
+    echo "<h1>Failure</h1>";
+    echo "Uncaught exception: " , $exception->getMessage();
+    echo "<h1>PHP Info for troubleshooting</h1>";
+    phpinfo();
+}
+
+set_exception_handler('exception_handler');
+
 // Establishes the connection
 $conn = sqlsrv_connect($serverName, $connectionOptions);
 if ($conn === false) {
@@ -412,7 +429,7 @@ if ($stmt === false) {
 }
 ?>
 
-<h1> Results : </h1>
+<h1> Success Results : </h1>
 
 <?php
 while ($row = sqlsrv_fetch_array($stmt, SQLSRV_FETCH_ASSOC)) {
@@ -425,6 +442,7 @@ sqlsrv_close($conn);
 function formatErrors($errors)
 {
     // Display errors
+    echo "<h1>SQL Error:</h1>";
     echo "Error information: <br/>";
     foreach ($errors as $error) {
         echo "SQLSTATE: ". $error['SQLSTATE'] . "<br/>";
@@ -434,4 +452,56 @@ function formatErrors($errors)
 }
 ?>
 ```
-Point your browser to https://localhost/testsql.php (https://localhost:8080/testsql.php on macOS). You should now be able to connect to your SQL Server/Azure SQL database.
+
+### PDO_SQLSRV example
+
+```php
+<?php
+try {
+    $serverName = "yourServername";
+    $databaseName = "yourDatabase";
+    $uid = "yourUsername";
+    $pwd = "yourPassword";
+    
+    $conn = new PDO("sqlsrv:server = $serverName; Database = $databaseName;", $uid, $pwd);
+
+    // Select Query
+    $tsql = "SELECT @@Version AS SQL_VERSION";
+
+    // Executes the query
+    $stmt = $conn->query($tsql);
+} catch (PDOException $exception1) {
+    echo "<h1>Caught PDO exception:</h1>";
+    echo $exception1->getMessage() . PHP_EOL;
+    echo "<h1>PHP Info for troubleshooting</h1>";
+    phpinfo();
+}
+
+?>
+
+<h1> Success Results : </h1>
+
+<?php
+try {
+    while ($row = $stmt->fetch(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC)) {
+        echo $row['SQL_VERSION'] . PHP_EOL;
+    }
+} catch (PDOException $exception2) {
+    // Display errors
+    echo "<h1>Caught PDO exception:</h1>";
+    echo $exception2->getMessage() . PHP_EOL;
+}
+
+unset($stmt);
+unset($conn);
+?>
+```
+
+Point your browser to https://localhost/testsql.php (https://localhost:8080/testsql.php on macOS). You should now be able to connect to your SQL Server/Azure SQL database. If you don't see a success message showing SQL version information, you can do some basic troubleshooting by running the script from the command line:
+
+```bash
+php testsql.php
+```
+
+If running from the command line is successful but nothing shows in your browser, check the [Apache log files](https://linuxize.com/post/apache-log-files/#location-of-the-log-files). For additional help, see [Support resources](support-resources-for-the-php-sql-driver.md) for places to go.
+
diff --git a/source/shared/version.h b/source/shared/version.h
index d8bf6ac0..93466519 100644
--- a/source/shared/version.h
+++ b/source/shared/version.h
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
 #define SQLVERSION_BUILD 0
 
 // For previews, set this constant to 1, 2 and so on. Otherwise, set it to 0
-#define PREVIEW 2
+#define PREVIEW 0
 #define SEMVER_PRERELEASE
 
 // Semantic versioning build metadata, build meta data is not counted in precedence order.
@@ -47,9 +47,7 @@
 
 // Semantic versioning: 
 // For stable releases leave SEMVER_PRERELEASE empty
-// Otherwise, for pre-releases, add '-' and change it to:
-// "RC" for release candidates
-// "preview" for ETP 
+// Otherwise, for pre-releases, add '-' and change it to "beta" with a preview number
 #if PREVIEW > 0
 #undef SEMVER_PRERELEASE
 #define SEMVER_PRERELEASE "beta" STRINGIFY(PREVIEW)
@@ -60,8 +58,8 @@
 
 #define _FILEVERSION            SQLVERSION_MAJOR,SQLVERSION_MINOR,SQLVERSION_PATCH,SQLVERSION_BUILD
 
-// PECL package version macros ('-' or '+' is not allowed)
-#define PHP_SQLSRV_VERSION      "5.9.0beta2"
-#define PHP_PDO_SQLSRV_VERSION  "5.9.0beta2"
+// PECL package version ('-' or '+' is not allowed) - to support Pickle do not use macros below
+#define PHP_SQLSRV_VERSION      "5.9.0"
+#define PHP_PDO_SQLSRV_VERSION  "5.9.0"
 
 #endif // VERSION_H