Getting Started on Windows
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[edit] Uhm...which windows?
MySQL provides builds for the Windows operating system. These are tested for Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows 2003.
Windows 95, 98 and ME are not officially supported. That means that products might or might not work. Even if they seem to work, they might have unexpected side effects: your computer might burst into flames. Your finger might get stuck between the computer case and the cd tray. You have been warned!
[edit] Hardware
Most MySQL products are available for both 32 bit and 64 bit windows. There are no special hardware requirements: a normal PC that is capable of running windows is perfectly capable of running MySQL software, both server and client products.
I personally guarantee you that 16 bit Windows versions (That's everything before windows 95) definitely won't run any MySQL software. That is, you can of course get the MySQL Source and try real hard to see if you can build a version yourself. If you succeed, you will most probably be famous forever, at least in some circles. You might earn yourself a job doing that.
[edit] Getting the software
Most of MySQL's software is freely available for download from MySQL Download site.
- The MySQL Database Server - A full-fledged, server based rdbms application. This is the core product. It's never a bad idea to install one locally, even if you only want to develop applications that run on remote servers.
- MySQL Tools - Provide a graphical User interface to the database server to Administer the database or to migrate or develop applications.
- Connectors and API's - Mostly these are libraries to access MySQL from programming languages such as C/C++, PHP etcetera. Among these, the ODBC driver is especially handy for Windows users, for example if you want tot connect to MySQL using Microsoft Access.
For almost all of these products, there are at least two different versions directly obtainable from the download site: the GA or Generally Available version, and the Development version. The GA version is considered production-ready: it can be used to deploy real world applications, so you can then make Lots of Money with them. The Development version represents the upcoming version: it might be in either the Alpha or the Beta stage of development. Since this article is about getting started on windows, we'll assume that GA versions will be used for everything.
Apart from the versions, MySQL products are distributed in two different flavours: a directly usable form (the "binary" or "executable" form) and the sourcecode. The sourcecode allows everybody to see how exactly the software is made. It is really nice for programmers, and definitely not where you want to start if you just want to use MySQL products.
[edit] Getting MySQL Server
From the dowloads page you still have to find the link that leads you to the actual MySQL Server download. You can also go there directly. Just use and url like this:
http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/Max.Min.html
Here, Max is the major version number, and Min is the minor one. For example this link:
http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/5.0.html
leads you to the download site for the 5.0 release (currently GA). There you will find all distributions of the MySQL Server on one page. And with all, I mean: all - that is, Windows for 32 bit x86 processors, Windows for 64 bit processors, as well as the plethora of Linux, Unix and Solaris builds.
Windows users are lucky: their downloads are on top of the downloads page, defying any alfabetic principles of ordering the build names on the page.
Currently, there are three different ways of packaging the windows builds:
- Windows Essentials (Graphical, Wizard-based Installer)
- Windows (same as essentials, but with include files and test suite)
- A plain zip.
Installation will be really easy and smooth if you choose the installer. Frankly, there's little benefit in downloading the zip when you alse have the installer based versions.
When you just want to check out the database and it's features, the Essentials download is fine. The Essentials version just does not contain all kinds of resources you might need when you are programming applications that connect directly with the database. Having said that, it's probably always safe to choose the larger 'plain' Windows version, as the extra resources won't really hurt. There is no difference featurewise (no, really) and we're talking about a 16 M vs 40 M download - in both cases - not very much in the Gigabyte world of the modern PC.
Clicking at one of the links will lead you to a page of mirrors that provide the actual download.
(Most probably, you will also so a rather large feedback form on top of the page. No worries: you do *not* have to sign up, and you can download for free without registering anywhere, and miss out on the opportunity to win a luxury cruise around the world. Just go straight to the dowloads. On the other hand, when you do fill out the form, or sign up for the newsletter, well, you know how it is. MySQL values your opinion, and signing up is a way of helping MySQL improve their product and services, which should benefit the users, aka you in the end.)
The mirrors page usually offers a few mirrors near your location on the top of the list, and in most cases you can download via http or ftp.