Fedora Bible 2010 Edition: Featuring Fedora Linux 12

Chapter 23. Setting Up a MySQL Database Server

In This Chapter

• Finding MySQL packages

• Configuring the MySQL server

• Working with MySQL databases

• Displaying MySQL databases

• Making changes to tables and records

• Adding and removing user access

• Checking and fixing databases

MySQL is a popular Structured Query Language (SQL) relational database server. Like other database servers that use SQL, MySQL provides the means to access and manage SQL databases. However, MySQL also provides tools for creating database structures, as well as for adding data to those structures, modifying the data, and removing the data from those structures. Because MySQL is a relational database, data can be stored and controlled in small, manageable tables. Those tables can be used in combination to create flexible, complex data structures.

A Swedish company called MySQL AB was responsible for developing MySQL (http://www.mysql.com). MySQL AB released MySQL as an open source product several years ago, gaining revenue by offering a variety of MySQL support packages, commercial licenses, and MySQL-branded franchise products. In February 2008, Sun Microsystems Inc. acquired MySQL AB for about $1 billion. (Who says you can't make money with open source software?) The following spring, Oracle acquired Sun and now has control of this and other open source software projects.

Although not all the ramifications of Oracle's acquisition of MySQL have played out yet, for now MySQL is still available as open source software. However ...