Over Viewing the Interface - Mastering phpMyAdmin 3.4 for Effective MySQL Management - page 49

Database and table list
The following example shows that no database has been chosen yet:
It is also possible to see a No databases message instead of the list of databases. This
means that our current MySQL rights do not allow us to see any existing databases.
A MySQL server always has at least one database (named mysql ), but
it may be the case that we do not have the rights to see it. Moreover,
as MySQL 5.0.2, a special database called information_schema
appears at all times in the database list—unless it is hidden via the
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['only_db'] or the $cfg['Servers']
[$i]['hide_db'] mechanisms. It contains a set of views describing
the metadata visible for the logged-in users.
We may have the right to create one, as explained in Chapter 4 .
Light mode
The navigation panel can be shown in two ways—the Light mode and the
Full mode. The Light mode is used by default, defined by a TRUE value in
$cfg['LeftFrameLight'] . This mode shows a drop-down list of the available
databases, and only tables of the currently chosen database are displayed. It is more
efficient than Full Mode; the reason is explained in the Full Mode section appearing
later in the chapter. In the following screenshot, we have chosen the mysql database: