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3.3 MySQL

MySQL is one of the most popular database management systems (DBMSs) on the
market today. As most software applications need to interact with data in some form,
programming languages like Python provide tools for storing and accessing these data
sources.

To connect Python with the MySQL database we need to install the MySQL
connector. MySQL Connector enables Python programs to access MySQL databases,
using an API that is compliant with the Python Database API Specification v2.0 (PEP 249).
It is written in pure Python and does not have any dependencies except for the Python
Standard Library.

3.3.1 MySQL Installation

MySQL should be installed on our computer before we connect a database to
Python file. MySQL is a server-based database management system. One server might
contain multiple databases. To interact with a database, we must first establish a
connection with the server. The general workflow of a Python program that interacts
with a MySQL database is as follows:
a) Connect Python file to the MySQL server.
b) Create a new database.
c) Connect to the newly created or an existing database.
d) Execute a SQL query and fetch results.
e) Inform the database if any changes are made to a table.
f) Close the connection to the MySQL server.

This is the most basic work process depending on the application being developed.

However, no matter what application is generated, the first step is to make a database

connection to our application.

3.3.2 Step to Install MySQL Connector in Python

1. Install MySQL Workbench to create a database on our localhost. Download a free
MySQL database at http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/workbench/.