MySQL in Windows and Linux

Hi,

My host is a Linux host and it supports MySQL. However I use Windows myself, and this would be my first go at MySQL.

I am just wondering if I download the Windows version of MySQL, how could I use the same database for my site?

Thank you very much.

Yes, you can. But setting up MySQL on an NT-system, like Windows 2000 or Windows XP requires some code changes. It is not a simple download and install file.

Thanks, but I actually have Win98. And I have downloaded and installed MySQL onto my own computer in c:/mysql.

What's the next step I should take now?

Thanks in advance.

First, let me tell you something about testing stuff for your website on your own pc. Besides MySQL for the database, you will also need a webserver and a parser for server-side scripting languages.
Most people choose to use PHP with MySQL, so this migth be your best shot. PHP also has a nice learning curve, it doesn't take too long before you can actually do some nice things.

The PHP-parser and the webserver are needed to interpret the PHP code you write. Without it, all the code would just produce a bit of gibberish on the screen.

I recommend you download the Apache Webserver, and the PHP-parser as well.

Or, if you don't want to go through the hassle of downloading, installing and configuring it all yourself, you might want to take a look at PHP-Dev. This is a complete package, which will - after downloading of course - install a the complete bundle I mentioned above for you.