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   mysql_embedded    ( 1 )

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MYSQL TIPS

This section describes some techniques that can help you use mysql more effectively.

Displaying Query Results Vertically Some query results are much more readable when displayed vertically, instead of in the usual horizontal table format. Queries can be displayed vertically by terminating the query with \G instead of a semicolon. For example, longer text values that include newlines often are much easier to read with vertical output:

mysql> SELECT * FROM mails WHERE LENGTH(txt) < 300 LIMIT 300,1\G *************************** 1. row *************************** msg_nro: 3068 date: 2000-03-01 23:29:50 time_zone: +0200 mail_from: Monty reply: monty@no.spam.com mail_to: "Thimble Smith" <tim@no.spam.com> sbj: UTF-8 txt: >>>>> "Thimble" == Thimble Smith writes: Thimble> Hi. I think this is a good idea. Is anyone familiar Thimble> with UTF-8 or Unicode? Otherwise, I´ll put this on my Thimble> TODO list and see what happens. Yes, please do that. Regards, Monty file: inbox-jani-1 hash: 190402944 1 row in set (0.09 sec)

Using the --safe-updates Option For beginners, a useful startup option is --safe-updates (or --i-am-a-dummy, which has the same effect). It is helpful for cases when you might have issued a DELETE FROM tbl_name statement but forgotten the WHERE clause. Normally, such a statement deletes all rows from the table. With --safe-updates, you can delete rows only by specifying the key values that identify them. This helps prevent accidents.

When you use the --safe-updates option, mysql issues the following statement when it connects to the MariaDB server:

SET sql_safe_updates=1, sql_select_limit=1000, sql_max_join_size=1000000;

The SET statement has the following effects:

• You are not allowed to execute an UPDATE or DELETE statement unless you specify a key constraint in the WHERE clause or provide a LIMIT clause (or both). For example:

UPDATE tbl_name SET not_key_column=val WHERE key_column=val; UPDATE tbl_name SET not_key_column=val LIMIT 1;

• The server limits all large SELECT results to 1,000 rows unless the statement includes a LIMIT clause.

• The server aborts multiple-table SELECT statements that probably need to examine more than 1,000,000 row combinations.

To specify limits different from 1,000 and 1,000,000, you can override the defaults by using the --select-limit and --max-join-size options:

shell> mysql --safe-updates --select-limit=500 --max-join-size=10000

Disabling mysql Auto-Reconnect If the mysql client loses its connection to the server while sending a statement, it immediately and automatically tries to reconnect once to the server and send the statement again. However, even if mysql succeeds in reconnecting, your first connection has ended and all your previous session objects and settings are lost: temporary tables, the autocommit mode, and user-defined and session variables. Also, any current transaction rolls back. This behavior may be dangerous for you, as in the following example where the server was shut down and restarted between the first and second statements without you knowing it:

mysql> SET @a=1; Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.05 sec) mysql> INSERT INTO t VALUES(@a); ERROR 2006: MySQL server has gone away No connection. Trying to reconnect... Connection id: 1 Current database: test Query OK, 1 row affected (1.30 sec) mysql> SELECT * FROM t; +------+ | a | +------+ | NULL | +------+ 1 row in set (0.05 sec)

The @a user variable has been lost with the connection, and after the reconnection it is undefined. If it is important to have mysql terminate with an error if the connection has been lost, you can start the mysql client with the --skip-reconnect option.