MySQL Programming Question:

Answer #1"mysql" offers a big list of command line options. Here are some commonly used options:

► "-?" - Displays a help message on how to use "mysql" and terminates the program.
► "-u userName" - Specifies a user name for the server to authenticate when connecting to the server.
► "-p[password]" - Specifies a password for the server to authenticate when connecting to the server.
► "-h hostName" - Specifies a host name where the MySQL server is running. The default host name "localhost".
► "-P portNumber" - Specifies a port number where the MySQL server is listening for connections. The default port number is 3306.
► "-e command" - Executes the specified command and terminates the program.
► "-t" - Specifies that the query output is displayed in text table format. This is the default display format for interactive mode.
► "-H" - Specifies that the query output is displayed in HTML table format.
► "-X" - Specifies that the query output is displayed in XML element format.

Answer #2Here is a tutorial exercise of how to use the "-?" option with "mysql":

>cd mysqlin
>mysql -?
mysql Ver 14.12 Distrib 5.0.24, for Win32 (ia32)
Copyright (C) 2002 MySQL AB
...
Usage: mysql [OPTIONS] [database]
-?, --help Display this help and exit.
-I, --help Synonym for -?
--auto-rehash Enable automatic rehashing. One doesn't
need to use 'rehash' to get table and field
completion, but startup and reconnecting may
take a longer time. Disable with
--disable-auto-rehash.
-A, --no-auto-rehash
...