Getting Help with MySQL
One of the stated goals of MySQL AB is to make MySQL easy to use. To a great extent, it is reaching this goal. Many questions can be resolved easily by a quick look at the documentation. Regardless of how intuitive and well documented a product might be, some users will run into issues that they need extra help to resolve.
So what should you do when you’re stuck? One solution (which I mention with a grin on my face) is to read this book. Many other resources are available— some of the most useful ones are listed as follows.
Online Documentation
A searchable online manual is available at www.mysql.com/doc/. This resource is ideal if you have the intention of browsing through the manual section hierarchy. If you would rather search the documentation, a quicker way is to go to www.mysql.com/doc/home.html.
I recommend that you first spend some time looking for the answer in the manual before turning to other sources for help. Even if you are not able to find the solution itself, reading the manual will help you become more familiar with the issues associated with your problem. This increased level of understanding will help you get a better idea of what questions you need to answer to solve the problem, and thus make your use of other resources more efficient.
Mailing List
MySQL AB maintains a public mailing list dedicated to the discussion of MySQL. The posts are open to anyone. Unlike a number of other mailing lists, it is not necessary to subscribe in order to post. To post to the list, simply send a mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The posts are read by about 4000 subscribers, and some of them are very knowledgeable MySQL users. Most questions are answered, although there is no guarantee. The questions that are not answered typically fall into three categories: very frequently asked questions that are answered already in the manual, vague questions, and very difficult questions that need a MySQL developer to answer.
The following rules of etiquette will help you maximize your chances of getting an answer and enhance the quality of your experience with the MySQL community:
- Be sure to spend some time reading the manual so you are at least somewhat familiar with the issue before you ask. In a couple of sentences in your post, state that you have done so and demonstrate that you have some knowledge of the issue.
- Search through list archives first to see if your question has already been answered. You can find a list of searchable archives at mysql.com/documentation/searchlists.html.
- On average, you can expect an answer within 24 hours. However, you must remember that you are, figuratively speaking, fishing in a lake. So if the fish are not hungry or simply do not like your bait, you may not catch any. If that happens, try a different bait; in other words, post again by restating your question in a different way so that somebody knowledgeable might find it appealing enough to answer.
- Be as specific as possible, stating all the relevant information, such as the MySQL version you are using, your operating system, the commands you have typed, and the output produced exactly as it appears on the screen. At the same time, try not to overwhelm the potential helper with unnecessary details. Attempt to find the fine balance between too little and too much detail.
- Be polite. Even if you do have an urgent problem, avoid talking about its urgency in the message. Concentrate on asking the question nicely—do not demand an answer. Avoid angry tones. Remember that you are asking for help from the people who are not in any way obligated to give it to you and will be doing you a favor.
- Study the posts you find in the mail archives that have received a good answer in the past and learn from them.
- Never send a personal e-mail to somebody active on the mailing list asking for free assistance with your problem. Just imagine what would happen to that person’s mailbox if everyone did that.
- Be creative in your post. Proper use of humor; a short, interesting story about yourself or your company; a brief description of what you are doing with MySQL; or something else that will make your post stand out could make a difference between getting an answer and not getting one, or between having some MySQL guru spend only three minutes thinking about your problem and then giving you his first semi-educated guess and having him work on your problem for as long as it takes to solve it.
In addition to the general list, MySQL AB maintains similar lists for more specialized discussions. Those lists do not have as many subscribers, and the traffic on them is not so heavy. Similar rules of etiquette apply for the posts. In addition, the posts have to stay within the topic of the list. For example, you should not ask for help with installation on the MySQL Internals list, which is dedicated to the discussion of the internals of the MySQL server. More information about those lists can be obtained from www.mysql.com/documenta- tion/lists.html.
Local Linux User Groups
In addition to the general mailing list, it is possible to obtain help with MySQL from a local Linux user group. Many Linux professionals have a good understanding of MySQL. The two skills tend to go together because MySQL is a popular database for Linux.
Such users groups usually have a mailing list of their own. Many require that you subscribe before you can post, which means that you will receive all the posts to that list for the duration of your subscription. It is, of course, possible to unsubscribe at any time.
To find your local Linux user group, visit www.linux.org/groups/.
Commercial Support from MySQL AB
While many issues can be successfully resolved with the help of the user community, there are times when you may need to talk to a developer at MySQL AB. Some of the advantages of this are as follows:
- If you have purchased support, response time is guaranteed.
- The quality standard of the response is high because it comes from somebody working closely with the MySQL development team. If you need to, you will be able to communicate with the developer who wrote the code that you are having issues with or questions about.
- MySQL AB is committed to working with you until the problem is solved.
MySQL AB provides commercial support. Various support options are available, from the entry level to the 24x7 support, at reasonable prices. More information about commercial support contracts is available at www.mysql.com/support/.
