Infoworld - Long a staple of open source computing, MySQL serves as the database back end to a massive array of applications, from network monitoring frameworks to Facebook. To those uninitiated in how databases work, setting up MySQL for the first time can be somewhat daunting. Nevertheless, with a few pointers and concepts, you can quickly get a new MySQL instance up and running, ready to deploy your application.
For the purposes of this guide, we'll assume that the reader has little or no experience with MySQL on Linux, and we'll concentrate on getting MySQL installed and configured to the point where an application can be connected to the database and begin operation. Advanced elements of MySQL, such as database programming and the SQL language itself, are beyond the scope of this effort.
