Installing MySQL - Learning MySQL - page 11

and even games. These distributions are free to download and distribute; you can also
buy low-cost CD copies or more expensive shrink-wrapped packs with printed man-
uals. Many of the most popular web sites run on Linux, and it's an excellent choice for
learning MySQL.
Live CDs
You can install Linux on its own, or alongside Windows on a single computer (this is
known as dual-booting ). If you want to try out Linux without installing it on your
computer, you can use a bootable, or live , CD distribution. This allows you to boot
your computer from a CD to get a fully-working Linux system without making any
changes to your hard disk. When you remove a live CD and reboot, everything is back
to what you had before; you don't have to worry about doing any damage while you
learn how to use Linux. For example, the Knoppix ( http://www.knoppix.org ) live CD
includes all the software—MySQL, the Apache web server, PHP, and Perl—that you
need for this topic. However, we recommend that you use a live CD only to become
familiar with Linux. While it's possible to save files from a live CD onto the hard disk,
a USB flash disk, or another computer through a network connection, this is tedious.
For anything that involves using Linux for extended periods of time, you're better off
with a full installation to hard disk.
Windows
Microsoft Windows is by far the most common commercial PC operating system today,
and new PCs often come with Windows pre-installed. Windows XP, released in 2001,
is available on most current PCs. Windows Vista is the latest version of Windows; at
the time of writing, it's in “release candidate” (for testing) form and due to be published
in the next few months.
We've tested the instructions in this topic using both XP and Vista. While we wouldn't
recommend using either version for a production server, they're quite appropriate for
learning the material in this topic. We assume you're using either XP or Vista; you can
set up a suitable environment on older versions of Windows such as 98 and Me, but
the process is less straightforward. When we say “Windows” in this topic, we mean
XP or Vista.
Mac OS X
All new Apple computers since 2001 have come with OS X; recent versions include
10.3 (Panther) and 10.4 (Tiger), with 10.5 (Leopard) due for release in the next few
months. OS X has a nice graphical user interface over a Unix-like heart, which means
it's not hard to use software originally designed for Unix or Linux. Most new Apple
computers built from 2006 onward have an x86-type processor; older systems have a
PowerPC processor. You can easily check which operating system version or processor
your system has by clicking on the Apple menu and choosing the About This Mac entry.