MySQL on Macbook

My wife wanted to set up an environment so that she could practice her sql skills.  After a bit of research, I decided to give MySQL a try.  Here are my notes on how it went.

Step 1. Download the software.
http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/
I chose the 64 bit DMG archive for Mac version to install.  Before the download started I had to jump through a few hoops.  First, I had to register to get a new oracle account.  This sign up was pretty painful.  I had to provide my name, full address, phone number, and a complicated password.  As usual, I entered a password that I will surely forget by the next time I am asked for it.  I then had to fill out a survey about my job, what I will use the software for and some other questions.  This was a bit off-putting, but in the end, I finally downloaded the file.

Step 2. Installation.
I clicked on the downloaded dmg file and then the pkg file which started the installation process.  I was told that the install would use 680.9 MB of space, which seems a bit high.  The software was installed in less than a minute.  I also installed the MySQLStartupItem.pkg, but I'm not sure what that is.  I finally installed the MySQL.prefPane, which gives a GUI (placed as an icon in system preferences) so that you can easily start the MySQL server.

Step 3. Hello world.
I wanted to do the basic operations with a database to make sure that I had installed everything ok.  In the programming world, when you start working with a new language, you would try to write some code, compile it, and then output the results.  Typically, you make the program say, "hello world".  I think I got my database to say "Hello World" with the following commands:

a. First, I created a database:

mysql> CREATE DATABASE testdb;
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.00 sec)

b. I confirmed that my database was created by showing them:

mysql> show databases;
+--------------------+
| Database           |
+--------------------+
| information_schema |
| mysql              |
| performance_schema |
| test               |
+--------------------+
4 rows in set (0.00 sec)

c. I then told mysql to use the database I just created.

mysql> use testdb;
Database changed

d. I created a table.

mysql> create table phrase_table ( 
    ->   words char(25)
    -> );
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.02 sec)

e. I added one row. It has one column called words and the phrase "Hello World".

mysql> insert into phrase_table (words) values("Hello World");
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.00 sec)

f. I finally selected all rows from my table to get the program to say "Hello World".

mysql> select * from phrase_table;
+-------------+
| words       |
+-------------+
| Hello World |
+-------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

e. Done. I got the basic operations to work. This link was pretty helpful. http://www.mysqltutorial.org/basic-mysql-tutorial.aspx