MySQL Installation and Environment Configuration: A Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up a Local Database

This article introduces basic information about MySQL and a guide to its installation and usage. MySQL is an open-source relational database management system (RDBMS) known for its stability and ease of use, making it suitable for local practice and small project development. Before installation, the operating system (Windows/Linux) should be confirmed, and the community edition installation package should be downloaded from the official website. The minimum hardware requirement is 1GB of memory. For Windows installation: Download the community edition installer, choose between typical or custom installation. During configuration, set a root password (at least 8 characters), and select the utf8mb4 character set (to avoid Chinese garbled characters). Verify the version using `mysql -V` and log in with `mysql -u root -p`. For Linux (Ubuntu), install via `sudo apt`, followed by executing the security configuration (changing the root password). Common issues include port conflicts (resolve by closing conflicting services), incorrect passwords (root password can be reset on Windows), and Chinese garbled characters (check character set configuration). It is recommended to use tools like Navicat or the command line to practice SQL, and regularly back up data using `mysqldump`. After successful installation, users can proceed to learn SQL syntax and database design.