Written by Jen Chen
Date: Spring 2005


- How do I access my Mysql database?
Your Account Database is already initialized by default and ready for your use. 

From telnet, type: 

	mysql -p

It will prompt you for the database password. 

You can also access it with the following commands: 

	mysql -u my_user_name --password=my_password
	mysql -u my_user_name -p 

Your User Name and Database Name are both the same as your account name. 

- How do I change my mySQL password?

   First, log in to your mySQL database from a shell prompt. Then issue the following 
command: 

	mysql> set password=password('new_password'); 
	mysql> FLUSH privileges; 

where new_password is the new password you have selected. 

Example 
	
	mysql> set password=password('XXXXXXX'); 

-What is the mysql port number?
   The port is the default standard port: 3306. Most programs like PHP and Perl DBI 
will take this port if it is not specified. 

-How do I backup or transfer my database?

     mySQL databases are not backed up like ordinary files. Even if it were possible, 
it would not be a good solution, as it could corrupt the database by doing so. 

To back up your database, telnet to your account, then use the mysqldump command: 

	mysqldump -p -D Database_Name > db.sql 

('db.sql' is the name of your backup dump file, which you can change to whatever 
name you choose) 

	That backs up the whole database in standard SQL text format. Both the structure 
(like CREATE table command) and data (like INSERT command) statements, can be 
backed up separately, which is usefull in many cases. Check: 

	mysqldump --help 

for all the command line options. 

To restore the dump, just type: 

	mysql -u user_name -p dbname < db.sql

	Note that the structure dump won't work if tables already exist. The backup will 
not change or replace the structure. 

	For the data dump (the INSERT commands) it will append any new data if it does 
not yet exist. 

	If you have a database that is in frequent use, such as one linked to a dynamic 
web interface being updated by your web site visitors, it is a good idea to make 
a daily backup of the data. 

	To transfer a database, create the dump as described above, use ftp to upload it 
on the second server, and then restore it as above. 

	Backing up the database is not done through an ftp database directly. You first 
need to generate an sql dump, and then download this dump. 

- Use the following mysqldump command: 

	mysqldump -u user_name -p -D database_name [table_name] > somefile.sql 

Then use the following command to view the dump: 

	view somefile.sql (exit with: q!) 
	
  The "view" command will open the VI-editor and allow us to edit the contents of the
somefile.sql file.   

- To put the file back: 

upload the file edit it with a text editor, adding the below line to the top:

	mysql> use databasename (which is the same as your username)

save the file and issue the command:

	mysql -u user_name -p < somefile.sql

All of the database will be generated, including structure. For more details, use 

	mysqldump --help