Installing MySQL on Linux (and nix) Systems

Installing MySQL on Linux (and *nix) Systems

First, you must download the software.

Head on over to http://www.mysql.com; click the "downloads" link, and choose the latest "stable" release.

Note

I prefer to get the source packages rather than the binary packages. This way, I get to see more of what is going on with the installation and feel that I have a little more control. These instructions cover installing MySQL from a source package.

Download the source package, and put it into a directory where you can extract the .tar file.
Extract the source files.
```
tar -xzvf mysql-3.23.xx.tar.gz 
```
As root, create the group and user for MySQL.
```
groupadd mysql useradd -g mysql mysql
```
Switch to the directory where the source files are located; this directory is created when you extract the files.
```
cd mysql-3.23.49
```
Run the configuration script.
```
./configure --prefix=/usr/local/mysql
```
Compile the source.
```
make
```
Install the files.
```
make install
```
Install the initial databases.
```
scripts/mysql_install_db
```

Change the ownership of the MySQL files.

chown -R root /usr/local/mysql chown -R mysql /usr/loca/mysql/var chgrp -R mysql /usr/local/mysql

Copy the configuration file to the /etc directory.
```
cp support-files/my-medium.cnf /etc/my.cnf
```

Start the MySQL daemon.

/usr/local/mysql/bin/safe_mysqld --user=mysql &

MySQL should now be up and running for you!