Chapter 2. Running MySQL

Now that the MySQL software has been successfully installed (presumably), it's time to learn how to start, stop, and basically administer your database server. Assuming that you did not install just the client software (e.g., as a Linux RPM), you now have a database server as well as several different utilities that will aid you in running and maintaining your databases.

In this chapter I will first cover starting and stopping MySQL on different operating systems (Windows XP, Mac OS X, and Ubuntu Linux). After that, I will go into important administrative knowledge that you'll need, regardless of the platform in use. This includes the introduction of two important applications: mysqladmin and the mysql client. During these discussions you will set a root user password, which is vital to security, and learn how to control user access to databases.