ROT - MySQL from the bottom up.

What you've installed is something only slightly removed from a programming language, you now either need to programme it or get yourself a database building package. If your database needs are simple, you'd be better off using Access which I believe has the whole lot built in with a simple database. An SQL database is intended to be used as part of a larger system, usually with custom code, or code that you just re-use completely, e.g. a backup system that uses the database for storage without you needing to write any database code yourself.

If you're looking for a free database that's easy to use, then MySQL or just about any SQL database isn't it. An SQL database needs to be either used by you directly typing SQL code into a simple client, or used with an "Application Builder", so search for "MySQL application builder" or similar. The SQL database provides the storage only, it does not provide a useful user interface to store and retrieve the data, it's intended for use by programmes that interact with the user, not for direct use by the user.

I've been using SQLyog and it seems to work well and it's free. On an older machine I was using MySQL Control Center, which seems to be obsolete now. It was on the MySQL site.

I'm a complete duffer with these things. I got into a terrible state with Microsoft Access when I loaded a later incarnation of database, which demanded an update of some dll's, which then screwed up all my earlier Access databases. Just one more reason that I swore never to go near Microsoft ever again if it could be avoided.

Ian is right, however I think I know where you're coming from with this (or, think I know where you want to go).

You need to ensure you have Apache setup, plus have PHP installed and working with Apache.

You can use the MySQL Command Line to (firstly change the main password!) create the database - tables will be handled by the app you're going to use. If you're looking at something like MODx then it'll do all the work for you with regard to the database once you have everything else working.

Having said this (and trying to keep it simplish), I'm not sure how XP handles this - so if you have a spare hard drive, it may be worth putting something like Fedora Core on (fairly easy setup and quite intuitive). This will load Apache, PHP etc for you - you just need to do a few little config changes to get a site up within minutes.

Mother wrote: >tables will be handled by the app

...and having written my first major DB application, running MySql, for the least pain, if you have to write your own application, use "Delphi"

Highly recommended.

Steve

Cpanel is usually the program your ISP (Zen ?) use to control the backend stuff on "your" webspace. Once there you can enable things like Coppermine and PhPBB, which all use MySQL as the "backend".

It might help if you described what you want to do WITH your database ?

Steve

I use mysql servers at work running a DB for a lot of scripts i have written. I use mysql administrator and mysql query browser. both are available on the mysql page as seperate downloads administrator will give you a graphical front end that lets you create schemas and users and set stuff up. query browser lets you right click on a table and modify the data in it along with running sql queries on it.

Mother"

Bill uttered summat worrerz funny about:

Your second name wouldn't be Gates would it ;-)

Lee D

Throw him in at the deep end ;-)

surely CentOS for a server build :-)

Si

How about swapping the birch twigs for breaker bars?

indeed that may be considered the deep end. :)

disclaimer: I'm not arguing, just telling what works for me.

I've built many *n*x servers over the last few years - the debian boxen have given the least admin headaches. But, it must be noted that I never install any client software. If one is looking for a 'desktop/workstation' type machine I have no suggestions to offer - I simply don't use them.

Oi!

LFS is a good and most worthy project IMO. I liken it to the old days when folk had to go fiddle with DOS and understand how it worked rather than just bunging an XP CD in the drive and having it all done for you. LFS - if followed carefully will enable users to know exactly what's going on and unlike most distros, you'll not end up potentially loading loads of useless crap or (shudder) open doors to your system.

As for distros, yeah, Debian is ok, but I still like FD/RH distros and for LIVE (Linux on a bootable CD that you can play with without having to install it, (unless you want to, that is)) go for Knoppix or BLAG.

SUSE is getting better with each release and although not really Linux, FreeBSD is a good robust OS.

Ditto, it looks like another round of testing on a certain well-known government service is due, I've been trying to get them to roll their own distro since the start of the project rather than using a crappy off-the shelf distro for their shipped devices. Most of the issues I found on previous occasions wouldn't have been there if they had removed superfluous stuff by building their own distro.

Personally I used to use enough of slackware to compile the rest of what I needed, but it can be hard to maintain across multiple boxes unless you basically put together your own package manager.

These days I use Gentoo, unlike other distros you can turn off dependencies, so if you don't want one tiny little thing to pull in the whole of Gnome, you can disable Gnome and the package will compile without Gnome-specific features. You can have a gnome/kde free system quite easily. It takes a little more nous to use than most though.

For an easy-to-get-into distro, ubuntu appears to be the best, I have one ubuntu box and I'm not keen on it, but I don't like all that binary take-what-you're-given s*it anyway.