mysql - man pages section 1: User Commands

Language:

mysql (1)

Name

mysql - line tool

Synopsis

mysql [options] db_name

Description

MySQL Database System MYSQL(1)

NAME
mysql - the MySQL command-line tool

SYNOPSIS
mysql [options] db_name

DESCRIPTION
mysql is a simple SQL shell with input line editing
capabilities. It supports interactive and noninteractive
use. When used interactively, query results are presented in
an ASCII-table format. When used noninteractively (for
example, as a filter), the result is presented in
tab-separated format. The output format can be changed using
command options.

If you have problems due to insufficient memory for large
result sets, use the --quick option. This forces mysql to
retrieve results from the server a row at a time rather than
retrieving the entire result set and buffering it in memory
before displaying it. This is done by returning the result
set using the mysql_use_result() C API function in the
client/server library rather than mysql_store_result().

Using mysql is very easy. Invoke it from the prompt of your
command interpreter as follows:

shell> mysql db_name

Or:

shell> mysql --user=user_name --password=your_password db_name

Then type an SQL statement, end it with ";", \g, or \G and
press Enter.

Typing Control+C causes mysql to attempt to kill the current
statement. If this cannot be done, or Control+C is typed
again before the statement is killed, mysql exits.
Previously, Control+C caused mysql to exit in all cases.

You can execute SQL statements in a script file (batch file)
like this:

shell> mysql db_name < script.sql > output.tab

On Unix, the mysql client writes a record of executed
statements to a history file. See the section called "MYSQL
HISTORY FILE".

MYSQL OPTIONS
mysql supports the following options, which can be specified
on the command line or in the [mysql] and [client] groups of

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an option file. mysql also supports the options for
processing option files described at Section 4.2.3.4,
"Command-Line Options that Affect Option-File Handling".

o --help, -?

Display a help message and exit.

o --auto-rehash

Enable automatic rehashing. This option is on by
default, which enables database, table, and column name
completion. Use --disable-auto-rehash to disable
rehashing. That causes mysql to start faster, but you
must issue the rehash command if you want to use name
completion.

To complete a name, enter the first part and press Tab.
If the name is unambiguous, mysql completes it.
Otherwise, you can press Tab again to see the possible
names that begin with what you have typed so far.
Completion does not occur if there is no default
database.

o --auto-vertical-output

Cause result sets to be displayed vertically if they are
too wide for the current window, and using normal
tabular format otherwise. (This applies to statements
terminated by ; or \G.) This option was added in MySQL
5.5.3.

o --batch, -B

Print results using tab as the column separator, with
each row on a new line. With this option, mysql does not
use the history file.

Batch mode results in nontabular output format and
escaping of special characters. Escaping may be disabled
by using raw mode; see the description for the --raw
option.

o --bind-address=ip_address

On a computer having multiple network interfaces, this
option can be used to select which interface is employed
when connecting to the MySQL server.

This option is supported only in the version of the
mysql client that is supplied with MySQL Cluster. It is
not available in standard MySQL Server 5.5 releases.

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o --character-sets-dir=path

The directory where character sets are installed. See
Section 10.5, "Character Set Configuration".

o --column-names

Write column names in results.

o --column-type-info, -m

Display result set metadata.

o --comments, -c

Whether to preserve comments in statements sent to the
server. The default is --skip-comments (discard
comments), enable with --comments (preserve comments).

o --compress, -C

Compress all information sent between the client and the
server if both support compression.

o --database=db_name, -D db_name

The database to use. This is useful primarily in an
option file.

o --debug[=debug_options], -# [debug_options]

Write a debugging log. A typical debug_options string is
'd:t:o,file_name'. The default is
'd:t:o,/tmp/mysql.trace'.

o --debug-check

Print some debugging information when the program exits.

o --debug-info, -T

Print debugging information and memory and CPU usage
statistics when the program exits.

o --default-auth=plugin

The client-side authentication plugin to use. See
Section 6.3.6, "Pluggable Authentication".

This option was added in MySQL 5.5.7.

o --default-character-set=charset_name

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Use charset_name as the default character set for the
client and connection.

A common issue that can occur when the operating system
uses utf8 or another multi-byte character set is that
output from the mysql client is formatted incorrectly,
due to the fact that the MySQL client uses the latin1
character set by default. You can usually fix such
issues by using this option to force the client to use
the system character set instead.

See Section 10.5, "Character Set Configuration", for
more information.

o --delimiter=str

Set the statement delimiter. The default is the
semicolon character (";").

o --disable-named-commands

Disable named commands. Use the \* form only, or use
named commands only at the beginning of a line ending
with a semicolon (";"). mysql starts with this option
enabled by default. However, even with this option,
long-format commands still work from the first line. See
the section called "MYSQL COMMANDS".

o --enable-cleartext-plugin

Enable the mysql_clear_password cleartext authentication
plugin. (See Section 6.3.6.4, "The Cleartext Client-Side
Authentication Plugin".) This option was added in MySQL
5.5.27.

o --execute=statement, -e statement

Execute the statement and quit. The default output
format is like that produced with --batch. See
Section 4.2.3.1, "Using Options on the Command Line",
for some examples. With this option, mysql does not use
the history file.

o --force, -f

Continue even if an SQL error occurs.

o --host=host_name, -h host_name

Connect to the MySQL server on the given host.

o --html, -H

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Produce HTML output.

o --ignore-spaces, -i

Ignore spaces after function names. The effect of this
is described in the discussion for the IGNORE_SPACE SQL
mode (see Section 5.1.7, "Server SQL Modes").

o --init-command=str

SQL statement to execute after connecting to the server.
If auto-reconnect is enabled, the statement is executed
again after reconnection occurs.

o --line-numbers

Write line numbers for errors. Disable this with
--skip-line-numbers.

o --local-infile[={0|1}]

Enable or disable LOCAL capability for LOAD DATA INFILE.
With no value, the option enables LOCAL. The option may
be given as --local-infile=0 or --local-infile=1 to
explicitly disable or enable LOCAL. Enabling LOCAL has
no effect if the server does not also support it.

o --named-commands, -G

Enable named mysql commands. Long-format commands are
permitted, not just short-format commands. For example,
quit and \q both are recognized. Use
--skip-named-commands to disable named commands. See the
section called "MYSQL COMMANDS".

o --no-auto-rehash, -A

This has the same effect as -skip-auto-rehash. See the
description for --auto-rehash.

o --no-beep, -b

Do not beep when errors occur.

o --no-named-commands, -g

Deprecated, use --disable-named-commands instead.
--no-named-commands was removed in MySQL 5.5.3.

o --no-pager

Deprecated form of --skip-pager. See the --pager option.

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--no-pager was removed in MySQL 5.5.3.

o --no-tee

Deprecated form of --skip-tee. See the --tee option.
--no-tee is removed in MySQL 5.5.3.

o --one-database, -o

Ignore statements except those that occur while the
default database is the one named on the command line.
This option is rudimentary and should be used with care.
Statement filtering is based only on USE statements.

Initially, mysql executes statements in the input
because specifying a database db_name on the command
line is equivalent to inserting USE db_name at the
beginning of the input. Then, for each USE statement
encountered, mysql accepts or rejects following
statements depending on whether the database named is
the one on the command line. The content of the
statements is immaterial.

Suppose that mysql is invoked to process this set of
statements:

DELETE FROM db2.t2;
USE db2;
DROP TABLE db1.t1;
CREATE TABLE db1.t1 (i INT);
USE db1;
INSERT INTO t1 (i) VALUES(1);
CREATE TABLE db2.t1 (j INT);

If the command line is mysql --force --one-database db1,
mysql handles the input as follows:

o The DELETE statement is executed because the default
database is db1, even though the statement names a
table in a different database.

o The DROP TABLE and CREATE TABLE statements are not
executed because the default database is not db1,
even though the statements name a table in db1.

o The INSERT and CREATE TABLE statements are executed
because the default database is db1, even though the
CREATE TABLE statement names a table in a different
database.

o --pager[=command]

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Use the given command for paging query output. If the
command is omitted, the default pager is the value of
your PAGER environment variable. Valid pagers are less,
more, cat [> filename], and so forth. This option works
only on Unix and only in interactive mode. To disable
paging, use --skip-pager. the section called "MYSQL
COMMANDS", discusses output paging further.

o --password[=password], -p[password]

The password to use when connecting to the server. If
you use the short option form (-p), you cannot have a
space between the option and the password. If you omit
the password value following the --password or -p option
on the command line, mysql prompts for one.

Specifying a password on the command line should be
considered insecure. See Section 6.1.2.1, "End-User
Guidelines for Password Security". You can use an option
file to avoid giving the password on the command line.

o --pipe, -W

On Windows, connect to the server using a named pipe.
This option applies only if the server supports
named-pipe connections.

o --plugin-dir=path

The directory in which to look for plugins. It may be
necessary to specify this option if the --default-auth
option is used to specify an authentication plugin but
mysql does not find it. See Section 6.3.6, "Pluggable
Authentication".

This option was added in MySQL 5.5.7.

o --port=port_num, -P port_num

The TCP/IP port number to use for the connection.

o --prompt=format_str

Set the prompt to the specified format. The default is
mysql>. The special sequences that the prompt can
contain are described in the section called "MYSQL
COMMANDS".

o --protocol={TCP|SOCKET|PIPE|MEMORY}

The connection protocol to use for connecting to the
server. It is useful when the other connection

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parameters normally would cause a protocol to be used
other than the one you want. For details on the
permissible values, see Section 4.2.2, "Connecting to
the MySQL Server".

o --quick, -q

Do not cache each query result, print each row as it is
received. This may slow down the server if the output is
suspended. With this option, mysql does not use the
history file.

o --raw, -r

For tabular output, the "boxing" around columns enables
one column value to be distinguished from another. For
nontabular output (such as is produced in batch mode or
when the --batch or --silent option is given), special
characters are escaped in the output so they can be
identified easily. Newline, tab, NUL, and backslash are
written as \n, \t, \0, and \\. The --raw option disables
this character escaping.

The following example demonstrates tabular versus
nontabular output and the use of raw mode to disable
escaping:

% mysql
mysql> SELECT CHAR(92);
+----------+
| CHAR(92) |
+----------+
| \ |
+----------+
% mysql -s
mysql> SELECT CHAR(92);
CHAR(92)
\\
% mysql -s -r
mysql> SELECT CHAR(92);
CHAR(92)
\

o --reconnect

If the connection to the server is lost, automatically
try to reconnect. A single reconnect attempt is made
each time the connection is lost. To suppress
reconnection behavior, use --skip-reconnect.

o --safe-updates, --i-am-a-dummy, -U

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Permit only those UPDATE and DELETE statements that
specify which rows to modify by using key values. If you
have set this option in an option file, you can override
it by using --safe-updates on the command line. See the
section called "MYSQL TIPS", for more information about
this option.

o --secure-auth

Do not send passwords to the server in old (pre-4.1.1)
format. This prevents connections except for servers
that use the newer password format.

o --show-warnings

Cause warnings to be shown after each statement if there
are any. This option applies to interactive and batch
mode.

o --sigint-ignore

Ignore SIGINT signals (typically the result of typing
Control+C).

o --silent, -s

Silent mode. Produce less output. This option can be
given multiple times to produce less and less output.

This option results in nontabular output format and
escaping of special characters. Escaping may be disabled
by using raw mode; see the description for the --raw
option.

o --skip-column-names, -N

Do not write column names in results.

o --skip-line-numbers, -L

Do not write line numbers for errors. Useful when you
want to compare result files that include error
messages.

o --socket=path, -S path

For connections to localhost, the Unix socket file to
use, or, on Windows, the name of the named pipe to use.

o --ssl*

Options that begin with --ssl specify whether to connect

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to the server using SSL and indicate where to find SSL
keys and certificates. See Section 6.3.8.4, "SSL Command
Options".

o --table, -t

Display output in table format. This is the default for
interactive use, but can be used to produce table output
in batch mode.

o --tee=file_name

Append a copy of output to the given file. This option
works only in interactive mode. the section called
"MYSQL COMMANDS", discusses tee files further.

o --unbuffered, -n

Flush the buffer after each query.

o --user=user_name, -u user_name

The MySQL user name to use when connecting to the
server.

o --verbose, -v

Verbose mode. Produce more output about what the program
does. This option can be given multiple times to produce
more and more output. (For example, -v -v -v produces
table output format even in batch mode.)

o --version, -V

Display version information and exit.

o --vertical, -E

Print query output rows vertically (one line per column
value). Without this option, you can specify vertical
output for individual statements by terminating them
with \G.

o --wait, -w

If the connection cannot be established, wait and retry
instead of aborting.

o --xml, -X

Produce XML output.

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The output when --xml is used with mysql matches that of
mysqldump --xml. See mysqldump(1) for details.

The XML output also uses an XML namespace, as shown
here:

shell> mysql --xml -uroot -e "SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'version%'"
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<resultset statement="SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'version%'" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<row>
<field name="Variable_name">version</field>
<field name="Value">5.0.40-debug</field>
</row>
<row>
<field name="Variable_name">version_comment</field>
<field name="Value">Source distribution</field>
</row>
<row>
<field name="Variable_name">version_compile_machine</field>
<field name="Value">i686</field>
</row>
<row>
<field name="Variable_name">version_compile_os</field>
<field name="Value">suse-linux-gnu</field>
</row>
</resultset>

(See Bug #25946.)

You can also set the following variables by using
--var_name=value. The --set-variable format is deprecated
and was removed in MySQL 5.5.3.

o connect_timeout

The number of seconds before connection timeout.
(Default value is 0.)

o max_allowed_packet

The maximum packet length to send to or receive from the
server. (Default value is 16MB.)

o max_join_size

The automatic limit for rows in a join when using
--safe-updates. (Default value is 1,000,000.)

o net_buffer_length

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The buffer size for TCP/IP and socket communication.
(Default value is 16KB.)

o select_limit

The automatic limit for SELECT statements when using
--safe-updates. (Default value is 1,000.)

MYSQL COMMANDS
mysql sends each SQL statement that you issue to the server
to be executed. There is also a set of commands that mysql
itself interprets. For a list of these commands, type help
or \h at the mysql> prompt:

mysql> help
List of all MySQL commands:
Note that all text commands must be first on line and end with ';'
? (\?) Synonym for `help'.
clear (\c) Clear command.
connect (\r) Reconnect to the server. Optional arguments are db and host.
delimiter (\d) Set statement delimiter.
edit (\e) Edit command with $EDITOR.
ego (\G) Send command to mysql server, display result vertically.
exit (\q) Exit mysql. Same as quit.
go (\g) Send command to mysql server.
help (\h) Display this help.
nopager (\n) Disable pager, print to stdout.
notee (\t) Don't write into outfile.
pager (\P) Set PAGER [to_pager]. Print the query results via PAGER.
print (\p) Print current command.
prompt (\R) Change your mysql prompt.
quit (\q) Quit mysql.
rehash (\#) Rebuild completion hash.
source (\.) Execute an SQL script file. Takes a file name as an argument.
status (\s) Get status information from the server.
system (\!) Execute a system shell command.
tee (\T) Set outfile [to_outfile]. Append everything into given
outfile.
use (\u) Use another database. Takes database name as argument.
charset (\C) Switch to another charset. Might be needed for processing
binlog with multi-byte charsets.
warnings (\W) Show warnings after every statement.
nowarning (\w) Don't show warnings after every statement.
For server side help, type 'help contents'

Each command has both a long and short form. The long form
is not case sensitive; the short form is. The long form can
be followed by an optional semicolon terminator, but the
short form should not.

The use of short-form commands within multi-line /* ... */
comments is not supported.

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o help [arg], \h [arg], \? [arg], ? [arg]

Display a help message listing the available mysql
commands.

If you provide an argument to the help command, mysql
uses it as a search string to access server-side help
from the contents of the MySQL Reference Manual. For
more information, see the section called "MYSQL SERVER-
SIDE HELP".

o charset charset_name, \C charset_name

Change the default character set and issue a SET NAMES
statement. This enables the character set to remain
synchronized on the client and server if mysql is run
with auto-reconnect enabled (which is not recommended),
because the specified character set is used for
reconnects.

o clear, \c

Clear the current input. Use this if you change your
mind about executing the statement that you are
entering.

o connect [db_name host_name]], \r [db_name host_name]]

Reconnect to the server. The optional database name and
host name arguments may be given to specify the default
database or the host where the server is running. If
omitted, the current values are used.

o delimiter str, \d str

Change the string that mysql interprets as the separator
between SQL statements. The default is the semicolon
character (";").

The delimiter string can be specified as an unquoted or
quoted argument on the delimiter command line. Quoting
can be done with either single quote ('), double quote
("), or backtick (`) characters. To include a quote
within a quoted string, either quote the string with a
different quote character or escape the quote with a
backslash ("\") character. Backslash should be avoided
outside of quoted strings because it is the escape
character for MySQL. For an unquoted argument, the
delimiter is read up to the first space or end of line.
For a quoted argument, the delimiter is read up to the
matching quote on the line.

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mysql interprets instances of the delimiter string as a
statement delimiter anywhere it occurs, except within
quoted strings. Be careful about defining a delimiter
that might occur within other words. For example, if you
define the delimiter as X, you will be unable to use the
word INDEX in statements. mysql interprets this as INDE
followed by the delimiter X.

When the delimiter recognized by mysql is set to
something other than the default of ";", instances of
that character are sent to the server without
interpretation. However, the server itself still
interprets ";" as a statement delimiter and processes
statements accordingly. This behavior on the server side
comes into play for multiple-statement execution (see
Section 22.8.16, "C API Support for Multiple Statement
Execution"), and for parsing the body of stored
procedures and functions, triggers, and events (see
Section 19.1, "Defining Stored Programs").

o edit, \e

Edit the current input statement. mysql checks the
values of the EDITOR and VISUAL environment variables to
determine which editor to use. The default editor is vi
if neither variable is set.

The edit command works only in Unix.

o ego, \G

Send the current statement to the server to be executed
and display the result using vertical format.

o exit, \q

Exit mysql.

o go, \g

Send the current statement to the server to be executed.

o nopager, \n

Disable output paging. See the description for pager.

The nopager command works only in Unix.

o notee, \t

Disable output copying to the tee file. See the
description for tee.

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o nowarning, \w

Enable display of warnings after each statement.

o pager [command], \P [command]

Enable output paging. By using the --pager option when
you invoke mysql, it is possible to browse or search
query results in interactive mode with Unix programs
such as less, more, or any other similar program. If you
specify no value for the option, mysql checks the value
of the PAGER environment variable and sets the pager to
that. Pager functionality works only in interactive
mode.

Output paging can be enabled interactively with the
pager command and disabled with nopager. The command
takes an optional argument; if given, the paging program
is set to that. With no argument, the pager is set to
the pager that was set on the command line, or stdout if
no pager was specified.

Output paging works only in Unix because it uses the
popen() function, which does not exist on Windows. For
Windows, the tee option can be used instead to save
query output, although it is not as convenient as pager
for browsing output in some situations.

o print, \p

Print the current input statement without executing it.

o prompt [str], \R [str]

Reconfigure the mysql prompt to the given string. The
special character sequences that can be used in the
prompt are described later in this section.

If you specify the prompt command with no argument,
mysql resets the prompt to the default of mysql>.

o quit, \q

Exit mysql.

o rehash, \#

Rebuild the completion hash that enables database,
table, and column name completion while you are entering
statements. (See the description for the --auto-rehash
option.)

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o source file_name, \. file_name

Read the named file and executes the statements
contained therein. On Windows, you can specify path name
separators as / or \\.

o status, \s

Provide status information about the connection and the
server you are using. If you are running in
--safe-updates mode, status also prints the values for
the mysql variables that affect your queries.

o system command, \! command

Execute the given command using your default command
interpreter.

The system command works only in Unix.

o tee [file_name], \T [file_name]

By using the --tee option when you invoke mysql, you can
log statements and their output. All the data displayed
on the screen is appended into a given file. This can be
very useful for debugging purposes also. mysql flushes
results to the file after each statement, just before it
prints its next prompt. Tee functionality works only in
interactive mode.

You can enable this feature interactively with the tee
command. Without a parameter, the previous file is used.
The tee file can be disabled with the notee command.
Executing tee again re-enables logging.

o use db_name, \u db_name

Use db_name as the default database.

o warnings, \W

Enable display of warnings after each statement (if
there are any).

Here are a few tips about the pager command:

o You can use it to write to a file and the results go
only to the file:

mysql> pager cat > /tmp/log.txt

You can also pass any options for the program that you

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want to use as your pager:

mysql> pager less -n -i -S

o In the preceding example, note the -S option. You may
find it very useful for browsing wide query results.
Sometimes a very wide result set is difficult to read on
the screen. The -S option to less can make the result
set much more readable because you can scroll it
horizontally using the left-arrow and right-arrow keys.
You can also use -S interactively within less to switch
the horizontal-browse mode on and off. For more
information, read the less manual page:

shell> man less

o The -F and -X options may be used with less to cause it
to exit if output fits on one screen, which is
convenient when no scrolling is necessary:

mysql> pager less -n -i -S -F -X

o You can specify very complex pager commands for handling
query output:

mysql> pager cat | tee /dr1/tmp/res.txt \
| tee /dr2/tmp/res2.txt | less -n -i -S

In this example, the command would send query results to
two files in two different directories on two different
file systems mounted on /dr1 and /dr2, yet still display
the results onscreen using less.

You can also combine the tee and pager functions. Have a tee
file enabled and pager set to less, and you are able to
browse the results using the less program and still have
everything appended into a file the same time. The
difference between the Unix tee used with the pager command
and the mysql built-in tee command is that the built-in tee
works even if you do not have the Unix tee available. The
built-in tee also logs everything that is printed on the
screen, whereas the Unix tee used with pager does not log
quite that much. Additionally, tee file logging can be
turned on and off interactively from within mysql. This is
useful when you want to log some queries to a file, but not
others.

The prompt command reconfigures the default mysql> prompt.
The string for defining the prompt can contain the following
special sequences.

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You can set the prompt in several ways:

o Use an environment variable. You can set the MYSQL_PS1
environment variable to a prompt string. For example:

shell> export MYSQL_PS1="(\u@\h) [\d]> "

o Use a command-line option. You can set the --prompt
option on the command line to mysql. For example:

shell> mysql --prompt="(\u@\h) [\d]> "
(user@host) [database]>

o Use an option file. You can set the prompt option in
the [mysql] group of any MySQL option file, such as
/etc/my.cnf or the .my.cnf file in your home directory.
For example:

[mysql]
prompt=(\\u@\\h) [\\d]>\\_

In this example, note that the backslashes are doubled.
If you set the prompt using the prompt option in an
option file, it is advisable to double the backslashes
when using the special prompt options. There is some
overlap in the set of permissible prompt options and the
set of special escape sequences that are recognized in
option files. (The rules for escape sequences in option
files are listed in Section 4.2.3.3, "Using Option
Files".) The overlap may cause you problems if you use
single backslashes. For example, \s is interpreted as a
space rather than as the current seconds value. The
following example shows how to define a prompt within an
option file to include the current time in HH:MM:SS>
format:

[mysql]
prompt="\\r:\\m:\\s> "

o Set the prompt interactively. You can change your
prompt interactively by using the prompt (or \R)
command. For example:

mysql> prompt (\u@\h) [\d]>\_
PROMPT set to '(\u@\h) [\d]>\_'
(user@host) [database]>
(user@host) [database]> prompt
Returning to default PROMPT of mysql>
mysql>

MYSQL HISTORY FILE

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On Unix, the mysql client writes a record of executed
statements to a history file. By default, this file is named
.mysql_history and is created in your home directory. To
specify a different file, set the value of the
MYSQL_HISTFILE environment variable.

The .mysql_history should be protected with a restrictive
access mode because sensitive information might be written
to it, such as the text of SQL statements that contain
passwords. See Section 6.1.2.1, "End-User Guidelines for
Password Security".

mysql does not write statements to the history file when
used noninteractively (for example, when reading input from
a file or a pipe). It is also possible to explicitly
suppress logging of statements to the history file by using
the --batch or --execute option.

If you do not want to maintain a history file, first remove
.mysql_history if it exists, and then use either of the
following techniques:

o Set the MYSQL_HISTFILE variable to /dev/null. To cause
this setting to take effect each time you log in, put
the setting in one of your shell's startup files.

o Create .mysql_history as a symbolic link to /dev/null:

shell> ln -s /dev/null $HOME/.mysql_history

You need do this only once.

MYSQL SERVER-SIDE HELP
mysql> help search_string

If you provide an argument to the help command, mysql uses
it as a search string to access server-side help from the
contents of the MySQL Reference Manual. The proper operation
of this command requires that the help tables in the mysql
database be initialized with help topic information (see
Section 5.1.10, "Server-Side Help").

If there is no match for the search string, the search
fails:

mysql> help me
Nothing found
Please try to run 'help contents' for a list of all accessible topics

Use help contents to see a list of the help categories:

mysql> help contents

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You asked for help about help category: "Contents"
For more information, type 'help <item>', where <item> is one of the
following categories:
Account Management
Administration
Data Definition
Data Manipulation
Data Types
Functions
Functions and Modifiers for Use with GROUP BY
Geographic Features
Language Structure
Plugins
Storage Engines
Stored Routines
Table Maintenance
Transactions
Triggers

If the search string matches multiple items, mysql shows a
list of matching topics:

mysql> help logs
Many help items for your request exist.
To make a more specific request, please type 'help <item>',
where <item> is one of the following topics:
SHOW
SHOW BINARY LOGS
SHOW ENGINE
SHOW LOGS

Use a topic as the search string to see the help entry for
that topic:

mysql> help show binary logs
Name: 'SHOW BINARY LOGS'
Description:
Syntax:
SHOW BINARY LOGS
SHOW MASTER LOGS
Lists the binary log files on the server. This statement is used as
part of the procedure described in [purge-binary-logs], that shows how
to determine which logs can be purged.
mysql> SHOW BINARY LOGS;
+---------------+-----------+
| Log_name | File_size |
+---------------+-----------+
| binlog.000015 | 724935 |
| binlog.000016 | 733481 |
+---------------+-----------+

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EXECUTING SQL STATEMENTS FROM A TEXT FILE
The mysql client typically is used interactively, like this:

shell> mysql db_name

However, it is also possible to put your SQL statements in a
file and then tell mysql to read its input from that file.
To do so, create a text file text_file that contains the
statements you wish to execute. Then invoke mysql as shown
here:

shell> mysql db_name < text_file

If you place a USE db_name statement as the first statement
in the file, it is unnecessary to specify the database name
on the command line:

shell> mysql < text_file

If you are already running mysql, you can execute an SQL
script file using the source command or \. command:

mysql> source file_name
mysql> \. file_name

Sometimes you may want your script to display progress
information to the user. For this you can insert statements
like this:

SELECT '<info_to_display>' AS ' ';

The statement shown outputs <info_to_display>.

You can also invoke mysql with the --verbose option, which
causes each statement to be displayed before the result that
it produces.

mysql ignores Unicode byte order mark (BOM) characters at
the beginning of input files. Previously, it read them and
sent them to the server, resulting in a syntax error.
Presence of a BOM does not cause mysql to change its default
character set. To do that, invoke mysql with an option such
as --default-character-set=utf8.

For more information about batch mode, see Section 3.5,
"Using mysql in Batch Mode".

MYSQL TIPS
This section describes some techniques that can help you use
mysql more effectively.

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Displaying Query Results Vertically
Some query results are much more readable when displayed
vertically, instead of in the usual horizontal table format.
Queries can be displayed vertically by terminating the query
with \G instead of a semicolon. For example, longer text
values that include newlines often are much easier to read
with vertical output:

mysql> SELECT * FROM mails WHERE LENGTH(txt) < 300 LIMIT 300,1\G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
msg_nro: 3068
date: 2000-03-01 23:29:50
time_zone: +0200
mail_from: Monty
reply: monty@no.spam.com
mail_to: "Thimble Smith" <tim@no.spam.com>
sbj: UTF-8
txt: >>>>> "Thimble" == Thimble Smith writes:
Thimble> Hi. I think this is a good idea. Is anyone familiar
Thimble> with UTF-8 or Unicode? Otherwise, I'll put this on my
Thimble> TODO list and see what happens.
Yes, please do that.
Regards,
Monty
file: inbox-jani-1
hash: 190402944
1 row in set (0.09 sec)

Using the --safe-updates Option
For beginners, a useful startup option is --safe-updates (or
--i-am-a-dummy, which has the same effect). It is helpful
for cases when you might have issued a DELETE FROM tbl_name
statement but forgotten the WHERE clause. Normally, such a
statement deletes all rows from the table. With
--safe-updates, you can delete rows only by specifying the
key values that identify them. This helps prevent accidents.

When you use the --safe-updates option, mysql issues the
following statement when it connects to the MySQL server:

SET sql_safe_updates=1, sql_select_limit=1000, sql_max_join_size=1000000;

See Section 5.1.4, "Server System Variables".

The SET statement has the following effects:

o You are not permitted to execute an UPDATE or DELETE
statement unless you specify a key constraint in the
WHERE clause or provide a LIMIT clause (or both). For
example:

UPDATE tbl_name SET not_key_column=val WHERE key_column=val;

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UPDATE tbl_name SET not_key_column=val LIMIT 1;

o The server limits all large SELECT results to 1,000 rows
unless the statement includes a LIMIT clause.

o The server aborts multiple-table SELECT statements that
probably need to examine more than 1,000,000 row
combinations.

To specify limits different from 1,000 and 1,000,000, you
can override the defaults by using the --select_limit and
--max_join_size options:

shell> mysql --safe-updates --select_limit=500 --max_join_size=10000

Disabling mysql Auto-Reconnect
If the mysql client loses its connection to the server while
sending a statement, it immediately and automatically tries
to reconnect once to the server and send the statement
again. However, even if mysql succeeds in reconnecting, your
first connection has ended and all your previous session
objects and settings are lost: temporary tables, the
autocommit mode, and user-defined and session variables.
Also, any current transaction rolls back. This behavior may
be dangerous for you, as in the following example where the
server was shut down and restarted between the first and
second statements without you knowing it:

mysql> SET @a=1;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.05 sec)
mysql> INSERT INTO t VALUES(@a);
ERROR 2006: MySQL server has gone away
No connection. Trying to reconnect...
Connection id: 1
Current database: test
Query OK, 1 row affected (1.30 sec)
mysql> SELECT * FROM t;
+------+
| a |
+------+
| NULL |
+------+
1 row in set (0.05 sec)

The @a user variable has been lost with the connection, and
after the reconnection it is undefined. If it is important
to have mysql terminate with an error if the connection has
been lost, you can start the mysql client with the
--skip-reconnect option.

For more information about auto-reconnect and its effect on
state information when a reconnection occurs, see

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Section 22.8.15, "Controlling Automatic Reconnection
Behavior".

This software and related documentation are provided under a
license agreement containing restrictions on use and
disclosure and are protected by intellectual property laws.
Except as expressly permitted in your license agreement or
allowed by law, you may not use, copy, reproduce, translate,
broadcast, modify, license, transmit, distribute, exhibit,
perform, publish, or display any part, in any form, or by
any means. Reverse engineering, disassembly, or
decompilation of this software, unless required by law for
interoperability, is prohibited.

The information contained herein is subject to change
without notice and is not warranted to be error-free. If you
find any errors, please report them to us in writing.

If this software or related documentation is delivered to
the U.S. Government or anyone licensing it on behalf of the
U.S. Government, the following notice is applicable:

U.S. GOVERNMENT RIGHTS Programs, software, databases, and
related documentation and technical data delivered to U.S.
Government customers are "commercial computer software" or
"commercial technical data" pursuant to the applicable
Federal Acquisition Regulation and agency-specific
supplemental regulations. As such, the use, duplication,
disclosure, modification, and adaptation shall be subject to
the restrictions and license terms set forth in the
applicable Government contract, and, to the extent
applicable by the terms of the Government contract, the
additional rights set forth in FAR 52.227-19, Commercial
Computer Software License (December 2007). Oracle USA, Inc.,
500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood City, CA 94065.

This software is developed for general use in a variety of
information management applications. It is not developed or
intended for use in any inherently dangerous applications,
including applications which may create a risk of personal
injury. If you use this software in dangerous applications,
then you shall be responsible to take all appropriate fail-
safe, backup, redundancy, and other measures to ensure the
safe use of this software. Oracle Corporation and its
affiliates disclaim any liability for any damages caused by
use of this software in dangerous applications.

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Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation
and/or its affiliates. MySQL is a trademark of Oracle
Corporation and/or its affiliates, and shall not be used
without Oracle's express written authorization. Other names
may be trademarks of their respective owners.

This software and documentation may provide access to or
information on content, products, and services from third
parties. Oracle Corporation and its affiliates are not
responsible for and expressly disclaim all warranties of any
kind with respect to third-party content, products, and
services. Oracle Corporation and its affiliates will not be
responsible for any loss, costs, or damages incurred due to
your access to or use of third-party content, products, or
services.

This document in any form, software or printed matter,
contains proprietary information that is the exclusive
property of Oracle. Your access to and use of this material
is subject to the terms and conditions of your Oracle
Software License and Service Agreement, which has been
executed and with which you agree to comply. This document
and information contained herein may not be disclosed,
copied, reproduced, or distributed to anyone outside Oracle
without prior written consent of Oracle or as specifically
provided below. This document is not part of your license
agreement nor can it be incorporated into any contractual
agreement with Oracle or its subsidiaries or affiliates.

This documentation is NOT distributed under a GPL license.
Use of this documentation is subject to the following terms:

You may create a printed copy of this documentation solely
for your own personal use. Conversion to other formats is
allowed as long as the actual content is not altered or
edited in any way. You shall not publish or distribute this
documentation in any form or on any media, except if you
distribute the documentation in a manner similar to how
Oracle disseminates it (that is, electronically for download
on a Web site with the software) or on a CD-ROM or similar
medium, provided however that the documentation is
disseminated together with the software on the same medium.
Any other use, such as any dissemination of printed copies
or use of this documentation, in whole or in part, in
another publication, requires the prior written consent from
an authorized representative of Oracle. Oracle and/or its
affiliates reserve any and all rights to this documentation
not expressly granted above.

For more information on the terms of this license, or for
details on how the MySQL documentation is built and
produced, please visit blue]MySQL Contact & Questions].

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MySQL Database System MYSQL(1)

For additional licensing information, including licenses for
third-party libraries used by MySQL products, see Preface
and Legal Notices.

For help with using MySQL, please visit either the
blue]MySQL Forums] or blue]MySQL Mailing Lists] where you
can discuss your issues with other MySQL users.

For additional documentation on MySQL products, including
translations of the documentation into other languages, and
downloadable versions in variety of formats, including HTML
and PDF formats, see the blue]MySQL Documentation Library].

ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following
attributes:

+---------------+--------------------------+
|ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE |
+---------------+--------------------------+
|Availability | database/mysql-55/client |
+---------------+--------------------------+
|Stability | Uncommitted |
+---------------+--------------------------+
SEE ALSO
For more information, please refer to the MySQL Reference
Manual, which may already be installed locally and which is
also available online at http://dev.mysql.com/doc/.

AUTHOR
Oracle Corporation (http://dev.mysql.com/).

NOTES
This software was built from source available at
https://java.net/projects/solaris-userland. The original
community source was downloaded from
http://downloads.mysql.com/archives/mysql-5.5/mysql-5.5.31.tar.gz

Further information about this software can be found on the
open source community website at http://dev.mysql.com/.

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