How To Install MySQL

I won't go into too much detail here about how to install MySQL. Partly because it is so easy. Go to
http://mysql.org/downloads/ and download the server for your platform. Make sure to check out the
“GUI Tools” section. It will really help administer your MySQL installation. I'll talk about the GUI
tools a bit later.
Another approach to take is to take a look at XAMPP at http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html.
XAMPP is a suite of FOSS goodness that includes Apache, MySQL, PHP, PHPmyAdmin and other
great packages. All in one easy to install bundle. Recommended.
One note is that XAMPP has the INNODB engine turned off by default. You'll need to adjust the
my.cnf file to have it turned on. More on this later.
What GUI tools are available to Administer and query
MySQL
There is not a shortage of GUI tools to help you administer and query the data that you have stored in
MySQL. Here are just a couple of the tools. Some are current, others are being moonlighted, and
others are still in beta.
1. MySQL Administrator – An administrative tool that enables you to control your environment
and gain better visibility into how your databases are operating.
2. MySQL Control Center – Another administrative tool that allows you to create and modify most
of the database objects in a trivial manner.
3. MySQL Query Browser – One of the easiest tools for creating, executing, and optimizing SQL
queries for your database.
4. PHPMyAdmin – A web based administrative tool that allows you to create databases, tables,
indexes, administer rights, etc. All in a browser.