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== The mysql Command-line Utility ==
The ''mysql'' tool is probably the most useful utility and is the tool that you will likely use the most as you learn and continue to use MySQL. ''mysql'' is a command-line client tool that is installed as standard with the MySQL package. From the ''mysql'' command-prompt it is possible to issue a wide range of commands to the database server such as creating and deleting databases and tables, searching for data, adding new rows and much more. Throughout this book the capabilities of the ''mysql'' tool will be covered in great detail.
Assuming MySQL has been installed (see [[Installing MySQL on Linux]] or [[Installing MySQL on Windows]] for installation details) the ''mysql'' tool may be loaded at the operating system command-prompt as follows:
<pre>
mysql
</pre>
The above command will display the following output:
<pre>
Welcome to the MySQL monitor. Commands end with ; or \g.
Your MySQL connection id is 234343 to server version: 5.0.27
Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the buffer.
mysql>
</pre>
If you see an error message, it may be that your database system is configured to require login credentials, or that the server is running on a different system. For example, if your database server requires username and password to gain access the -u and -p command-line options may be used respectively:
<pre>
mysql -u john -p
</pre>
The above command will prompt for the password for user ''john'' before allowing access to the database management system.
If the ''mysql'' client is running a different system to the MySQL server, the -h flag may be used to specify the name of the remote host together with -P to specify the port:
<pre>
mysql -h myDBServer -p 5678
</pre>