MySQL Reference Manual - 4.0.20

[ < ]

[ > ]

[ << ]

[ Up ]

[ >> ]

[Top]

[Contents]

[Index]

[ ? ]

1. General Information

The MySQL (R) software delivers a very fast, multi-threaded, multi-user, and robust SQL (Structured Query Language) database server. MySQL Server is intended for mission-critical, heavy-load production systems as well as for embedding into mass-deployed software. MySQL is a trademark of MySQL AB.

The MySQL software is Dual Licensed. Users can choose to use the MySQL software as an Open Source/Free Software product under the terms of the GNU General Public License (http://www.fsf.org/licenses/) or can purchase a standard commercial license from MySQL AB. See section MySQL Support and Licensing.

The MySQL Web site (http://www.mysql.com/) provides the latest information about the MySQL software.

The following list describes some sections of particular interest in this manual:

For information about the company behind the MySQL Database Server, see Overview of MySQL AB.
For a discussion about the capabilities of the MySQL Database Server, see The Main Features of MySQL.
For installation instructions, see Installing MySQL.
For tips on porting the MySQL Database Software to new architectures or operating systems, see Porting to Other Systems.
For information about upgrading from a Version 4.0 release, see Upgrading from Version 4.0 to 4.1.
For information about upgrading from a Version 3.23 release, see Upgrading from Version 3.23 to 4.0.
For information about upgrading from a Version 3.22 release, see Upgrading from Version 3.22 to 3.23.
For a tutorial introduction to the MySQL Database Server, see MySQL Tutorial.
For examples of SQL and benchmarking information, see the benchmarking directory (`sql-bench' in the distribution).
For a history of new features and bugfixes, see MySQL Change History.
For a list of currently known bugs and misfeatures, see Known Errors and Design Deficiencies in MySQL.
For future plans, see MySQL and the Future (the TODO).
For a list of all the contributors to this project, see Credits.

Important:

Reports of errors (often called "bugs"), as well as questions and comments, should be sent to the general MySQL mailing list. See section The MySQL Mailing Lists. See section How to Report Bugs or Problems.

The mysqlbug script should be used to generate bug reports on Unix. (Windows distributions contain a file named `mysqlbug.txt' in the base directory that can be used as a template for a bug report.)

For source distributions, the mysqlbug script can be found in the `scripts' directory. For binary distributions, mysqlbug can be found in the `bin' directory (`/usr/bin' for the MySQL-server RPM package).

If you have found a sensitive security bug in MySQL Server, please let us know immediately by sending an email message to security@mysql.com.