Which MySQL should I download?

[scorpionbilli]

Hi people. Im a programming novice and Im a bit lost!

I want to download MySQL but am confused by the number of MySQLs available for download from their website! I have a Macbook Tiger. Im reading stuff on Darwin v Rhapsody, and TAR v Package, please help!

Thanks.

[zarmanto]

First, I'd suggest reading Apple's own recommendations on installing MySQL:

http://developer.apple.com/internet/opensource/osdb.html

As for deciding on which specific package to install, I suppose that depends upon how comfortable you are with the command console. If the answer is "not at all" then I'll wager you're not going to find this experience very enjoyable... but at least you can start off at a sprint by installing from a standard MacOS X Installer package (http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/mac-os-x-installation.html). That'll be a little bit easier then trying to manually compile from source code.

If you're an old hand with a DOS prompt or a Unix/Linux command prompt, and have no problems at all delving into the inner guts of your operating system, then you're probably going to want to compile it yourself from the most recent version of the source that you can find. This will give you all of the latest bug fixes and vulnerability patches, making your machine just a little bit more secure then it might be otherwise.

[scorpionbilli]

Hi Zarmanto, thank you for your reply!

I downloaded mysql 5.0 but theres no pkg file for me to open and install the thing, what have I done wrong?!

[zarmanto]

I must confess, I'd never actually downloaded or attempted to install it myself prior to (ahem!) well, now. So I just went to look at the link for the MacOS X Installer package that I gave you, (which I'd actually gotten from the body of the other link I gave you) and did a little bit of digging, and I think I've found a more direct link to what you're looking for:

http://dev.mysql.com/get/Downloads/MySQL-5.0/mysql-5.0.45-osx10.4-i686.dmg/from/pick#mirrors

That's a link to the download mirrors page for the IntelMac disk image containing the mysql installer. (You'll need to choose a download mirror from that list to obtain the actual dmg file.) The dmg appears to contain all of the standard stuff a Mac user would expect to see, including a ReadMe.txt file (which you will need to read) and two pkg installers.

[scorpionbilli]

thanks for that!! where did you find it? Ive downloaded it and will install it in the next couple of days, I want to devote a whole evening to nailing this properly!

[zarmanto]

It wasn't particularly obvious, actually... I had to click on six different links between the link I originally gave you and the actual mirror page with the downloads on it. The trail looked something like this:

- To obtain MySQL, see Section 2.4.4, “How to Get MySQL” (http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/getting-mysql.html).
- Check our downloads page at http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/ ...
- Take me to the community downloads (http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/?rz=gdl#downloads)!
- Mac OS X (package format) (http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/5.0.html#macosx-dmg)
- Pick a mirror (http://dev.mysql.com/get/Downloads/MySQL-5.0/mysql-5.0.45-osx10.4-i686.dmg/from/pick)
- No thanks, just take me to the downloads!

[scorpionbilli]

wow, thanks! I thought I had downloaded the correct one but I guess not! why is the simple process of downloading something so complex?!

As I said, Ive got a couple of things to do in the next couple of days, but I'll keep you posted on my progress when I (try to!) install mysql :)

[zarmanto]

Good question. Perhaps we just stumbled upon the real reason that open-source software isn't more widely used... sometimes it's nearly impossible to find what you're looking for amidst all of the clutter!

Good luck -- and Happy Thanksgiving!

[scorpionbilli]

Hi Zamanto, happy thanks giving to you too!! how are you?

So, I installed everything last week but didnt have time to fire things up. I fired up XAMPP and clicked start everything, and MySQL isnt running (PHP is, version 5.2.4) and it says:

XAMPP: Starting MySQL...
/Applications/xampp/xamppfiles/bin/mysql.server: line 159: kill: (790) - No such process

What does this mean?

Thanks,

Bilal.