4.1. Overview of MySQL Programs

There are many different programs in a MySQL installation. This section provides a brief overview of them. Later sections provide a more detailed description of each one. Each program's description indicates its invocation syntax and the options that it supports.

Most MySQL distributions include all of these programs, except for those programs that are platform-specific. (For example, the server startup scripts are not used on Windows.) The exception is that RPM distributions are more specialized. There is one RPM for the server, another for client programs, and so forth. If you appear to be missing one or more programs, see Chapter 2, Installing and Upgrading MySQL, for information on types of distributions and what they contain. It may be that you have a distribution that does not include all programs and you need to install an additional package.

Each MySQL program takes many different options. Most programs provide a --help option that you can use to get a description of the program's different options. For example, try mysql --help.

You can override default option values for MySQL programs by specifying options on the command line or in an option file. See Section 4.2, “Using MySQL Programs”, for general information on invoking programs and specifying program options.

The MySQL server, mysqld, is the main program that does most of the work in a MySQL installation. The server is accompanied by several related scripts that assist you in starting and stopping the server:

Several programs perform setup operations during MySQL installation or upgrading:

MySQL client programs that connect to the MySQL server:

MySQL administrative and utility programs:

MySQL program-development utilities:

Miscellaneous utilities:

Oracle Corporation also provides several GUI tools for administering and otherwise working with MySQL Server:

  • MySQL Workbench: This is the latest graphical tool for working with MySQL databases.

  • MySQL Administrator: This tool is used for administering MySQL servers, databases, tables, and user accounts.

  • MySQL Query Browser: This graphical tool is used for creating, executing, and optimizing queries on MySQL databases.

  • MySQL Migration Toolkit: This tool helps you migrate schemas and data from other relational database management systems for use with MySQL.

These GUI programs are available at http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/. Each has its own manual that you can access at http://dev.mysql.com/doc/.

MySQL client programs that communicate with the server using the MySQL client/server library use the following environment variables.

Environment VariableMeaning
MYSQL_UNIX_PORTThe default Unix socket file; used for connections to localhost
MYSQL_TCP_PORTThe default port number; used for TCP/IP connections
MYSQL_PWDThe default password
MYSQL_DEBUGDebug trace options when debugging
TMPDIRThe directory where temporary tables and files are created

For a full list of environment variables used by MySQL programs, see Section 2.14, “Environment Variables”.

Use of MYSQL_PWD is insecure. See Section 5.3.2.2, “End-User Guidelines for Password Security”.

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