4.1 General Database and Table Properties

Every MySQL server has a data directory under which it manages the contents of databases and tables. The server represents these using directories and files under the data directory as follows:

• MySQL associates each database with a directory under the data directory. (This means that the data directory is the parent of all database directories.) A database directory has the same name as the database that it represents. For example, a database named world corresponds to a directory named world under the data directory. MySQL uses the database directory to manage the components of the database—that is, its tables and indexes. A database may be empty, or have one or more tables. Databases cannot be nested; one database cannot contain another.

• Each table in a database consists of rows and columns. A table can be empty (it can have zero rows of data), but it must have at least one column. A table may also be indexed to improve query performance. Every table is associated with a format file in the database directory that contains the definition, or structure, of the table. The format filename is the same as the table name, plus an .frm suffix. For example, the format file for a table named Country in the world database is named Country.frm and is located in the world directory under the server's data directory. Depending on the table type, the storage engine for a table might create additional files for the table. If Country is a MyISAM table, the MyISAM storage engine creates data and index files named Country.MYD and Country.MYI to store data rows and indexes (respectively) for the table. If Country is an InnoDB table, MySQL still creates a Country.frm format file in the database directory, but the InnoDB storage engine stores the table data and index information elsewhere, in the InnoDB tablespace.