MySQL

MySQL is a popular, free software relational database management system. It is often used in conjunction with web applications (such as many PHP sites), but has gained many more enterprise-level features since its start in 1994. An alternative fork is MariaDB.

Installation
Before installing, carefully consider the USE flags that influence the package deployment and features. The following table gives an overview of the package' supported USE flags:

Once the proper USE flags have been set, install :

To have the database(s) started automatically at boot, add the mysql init script to the default runlevel:

After configuring the database(s) - which is mentioned later in this document - start the mysql service:

Preliminary configuration
The package handles the preliminary setup of MySQL through the   option:

This will create a database, set proper permissions on it and assist in creating a good  password (this is for the MySQL   account, which is not related to the Linux   account).

To purge anonymous users and test databases from the installation, run  after the preliminary setup:

In-database configuration
When the database is up and running, connect to it using the mysql client application.

From this point, a session to the MySQL instance is open, allowing for queries and administrative commands to be serviced.

Erasing command history
By default MySQL logs every action, including leaving plain text passwords in its history file.

To remove the history file:

Alternatively you can permanently disable history logging with the following:

External resources

 * Official MySQL Community Edition documentation
 * Guide to MySQL monitoring