Critical Skill 1.4 Install MySQL on Windows

To install MySQL on a Windows system, you need to have the following things available on your computer:

• Windows 95, 98, Millennium Edition (Me), NT, 2000, or XP

• A ZIP program to unpack the distribution file

• Enough space on the hard drive to unpack, install, and create your desired databases

If you are reading this section, you are presumably using one of the specified Windows OSs.

If you do not have a ZIP program currently installed on your computer, you can download one of a variety of programs available on the Internet, including many freeware or free trial versions. WinZip, a widely used version of this type of program, is user -friendly and reliable; a free trial version is available for download at http://www.winzip.com. Also, the registered version is comparatively inexpensive.

If you are going to install a database on your computer, you need to have enough room for it. It can be difficult for anyone to predict how large their databases may eventually grow. MySQL needs around 100 megabytes (MB) to install. Beginners are recommended to have at least 150MB to 200MB of free space before running the installation process. One of the pluses about MySQL is its ease of mobility. If your database outgrows its current location, you need only copy the current data to another, larger location (such as a newly installed hard drive), and then change the datadir setting. As long as you have around 200MB, you can start your database. If necessary, you can easily expand your database and change the settings for your database later.

Note that if you require tables larger than 4 gigabytes (GB), you will need to install MySQL on an NTFS or newer file system and use the commands max_rows and avg_row_length when creating the tables.

When you re using the Windows OS for your MySQL database, you ll also want to install MyODBC on your computer. Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is a standardized Application Programming Interface (API) that allows you to connect to SQL databases. That means client programs can access many different kinds of databases or data sources. When connecting to MySQL from Windows, many programs require an ODBC connection, MyODBC is the ODBC designed by MySQL specifically to interface with all its supported platforms. Just to make things slightly more confusing, MySQL has a new term, Connector/ODBC, coined to cover its entire ODBC product line, but for simplicity, we use the term MyODBC .