Administering MySQL is not an easy task. The cryptic my.ini database settings file is hard to set correctly. Also, using the MySQL command line is rather intimidating if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing. Thankfully the good people at MySQL have provided us (the general public) with the MySQL GUI Tools to solve both of these problems for their community MySQL database server. If you haven’t used these tools before, you’re not alone - they are not included with the MySQL distribution and are often overlooked. They are available for Windows, Mac, and Linux and you can download the package here: http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/gui-tools/5.0.html.
One popular database administration tool is PHPMyAdmin. While very useful, PHPMyAdmin is web based and therefore requires a working PHP enabled server to function properly. MySQL GUI tools are very useful in this regard - they install anywhere (even the database server itself) and access your databases through a visual client. No web server needed!
The MySQL GUI Tools consist of the MySQL Administrator, Query Browser, Migration Toolkit, and the Tray Monitor. The most interesting and useful of the two (in my opinion) are the Administrator and the Query Browser.
The Administrator combines many useful features into one interface. You can completely administer your database settings through its menus - it will update the my.ini file for you automatically. It also gives you hints as to what these values should be. You can also administrate database users, view database activity, view database logs. The most useful feature of the Administrator is the ability to backup and restore databases using an easy user interface. You can even go as far to schedule backups, and the program will insert an item into your Windows scheduled tasks that will trigger a database backup at intervals of your choice. There are many commercial applications that charge for this capability.
AÂ screenshot of the database settings feature of MySQL Administrator
AÂ screenshot of the backup feature of MySQL Administrator
The MySQL Query Browser allows the execution of queries and the browsing of database structure of multiple databases at once. You can open up new tabs and have the results of different queries displayed in each one. You can even bookmark a query so it can be executed later. This feature would be perfect for the manual execution of various maintenance queries by database administrators.
You are also allowed to edit data using this tool, and it is done in a very intelligent way. You must go into edit mode before you are allowed to change data, preventing stray clicks from compromising data. When an item is changed, the surrounding box turns red. Your changes are not executed however until you click the apply changes button, adding a way of backing out of your changes easily.
A screenshot of the MySQL Query Browser
The entire MySQL GUI Tools package shares a common connection manager allowing you to keep multiple database’s connection information saved and at your fingertips.
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