Finding MySQL Packages

You need at least the mysql and mysql-server packages installed to set up MySQL using the procedures described in this chapter. The following MySQL packages come with the Fedora distribution:

• mysql — This software package contains a lot of MySQL client programs (in /usr/bin), several client shared libraries, the default MySQL configuration file (/etc/my.cnf), a few sample configuration files, files to support different languages, and documentation.

• mysql-server — This software package contains the MySQL server daemon (mysqld) and the mysqld start-up script (/etc/init.d/mysqld). The package also creates various administrative files and directories needed to set up the MySQL databases.

• mysql-devel — This software package contains libraries and header files required for developing MySQL applications.

• php-mysql — This software package contains a shared library that allows PHP applications to access MySQL databases. This basically allows you to add PHP scripts to your Web pages that can access your MySQL database.

In the current version of Fedora, all mysql software packages are contained on the DVD that comes with this book. If they are not installed, you can install the mysql packages using the rpm command or the system-config-packages window (as described in Chapter 5). The mysql package also requires that you install the perl-DBD-MySQL package.