MySQL Bugs: #34542: mysql_install_db fails if /etc/mysql/my.cnf exists with different basedir

Bug #34542	mysql_install_db fails if /etc/mysql/my.cnf exists with different basedir
Submitted:	14 Feb 2008 11:41	Modified:	4 Mar 2008 15:14
Reporter:	Susanne Ebrecht	Email Updates:
Status:	Closed	Impact on me:	None
Category:	MySQL Server: Installing	Severity:	S3 (Non-critical)
Version:	5.1, 6.0	OS:	Linux
Assigned to:	Mattias Jonsson	CPU Architecture:	Any

Description:
I got a new PC and installed Ubuntu 64bit.

I didn't want to install MySQL.

But by accident, one of the packages, that I installed, installed some fragments of MySQL.

After my OS and some additional software was installed, I cloned all MySQL versions with bk.

No problems with 5.0. All worked immediately.

But I couldn't install 6.0 and 5.1.

miracee@ernie:~/mysql60bk$ ./bin/mysql_install_db 

FATAL ERROR: Could not find /fill_help_tables.sql

...

If you are using a binary release, you must either be at the top
level of the extracted archive, or pass the --basedir option
pointing to that location.

miracee@ernie:~/mysql60bk$ ./bin/mysql_install_db --basedir=/home/miracee/mysql60bk

same error

at least I figured out, that there is:

/etc/mysql/my.cnf

I wondered, and just made a:
# rm -rf /etc/mysql

After this, the installation of 5.1 and 6.0 works fine.

How to repeat:
Get root.

Add a mysql/my.cnf to /etc

my.cnf should contain:
basedir=/something

Get user and switch to your mysql directory at your home.

$ ./bin/mysql_install_db

Suggested fix:
This don't happens with 5.0, so there should be a difference between 5.0 and 5.1/6.0.

Just let mysql_install_db work like at 5.0

Not a bug.

The /etc/mysql/my.cnf file was added as a global options file in 5.1.15.
(noted in the manual http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.1/en/option-files.html)

It is the same behavior as if one have the same content (using the basedir-option) in a /etc/my.cnf file in 5.0.

Workaround is to use a proper --basedir=<...> or --no-defaults when calling the mysql_install_db script if one do not want to correct the /etc/my.cnf or /etc/mysql/my.cnf file.

Mattias,

as I wrote:

" ./bin/mysql_install_db --basedir=/home/miracee/mysql60bk

same error"

This means, the --basedir=<...> has no effect and that is a bug.

Strange, since it works as I described on both 5.0.56 and 6.0.4 tar.gz packages in Mac OS X 10.5:
sh-3.2# head /etc/my.cnf /etc/mysql/my.cnf 
==> /etc/my.cnf <==
[mysqld]
basedir = /usr/local/mysql-data-etc.old

==> /etc/mysql/my.cnf <==
[mysqld]
basedir = /usr/local/mysql-data-etc-mysql.old

sh-3.2# ./scripts/mysql_install_db 

FATAL ERROR: Could not find /fill_help_tables.sql

If you compiled from source, you need to run 'make install' to
copy the software into the correct location ready for operation.

If you are using a binary release, you must either be at the top
level of the extracted archive, or pass the --basedir option
pointing to that location.

sh-3.2# ./scripts/mysql_install_db --basedir=/usr/local/mysql-6.0.4-alpha-osx10.5-x86
Installing MySQL system tables...
OK
Filling help tables...
OK
....

sh-3.2# cd ../mysql-enterprise-gpl-5.0.56-osx10.5-x86/
sh-3.2# ./scripts/mysql_install_db FATAL ERROR: Could not find fill_help_tables.sql inside --basedir

When using --basedir you must point either into a MySQL binary
distribution directory or a compiled tree previously populated
by 'make install'
sh-3.2# ./scripts/mysql_install_db --basedir=/usr/local/mysql-enterprise-gpl-5.0.56-osx10.5-x86
Installing MySQL system tables...
080304 12:39:04 [Warning] Setting lower_case_table_names=2 because file system for /usr/local/mysql-enterprise-gpl-5.0.56-osx10.5-x86/data/ is case insensitive
OK
Filling help tables...
080304 12:39:05 [Warning] Setting lower_case_table_names=2 because file system for /usr/local/mysql-enterprise-gpl-5.0.56-osx10.5-x86/data/ is case insensitive
OK

....

Will try to verify it on Linux.

What distribution do you use? (I cannot find mysql_install_db in bin/ it should be in scripts/)

This is fixed in newest source tree.

I was to fast. It fails with newest bk tree too.

When there is a global /etc/mysql/my.cnf where datadir are defined, mysql_install_db ignores the --basedir and choose the global my.cnf instead of using the my.cnf that is defined at the base dir or using no configuration.

After discussion with Susanne we come to the conclusion that this bug can be closed.

if there is one or more options files (see http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.1/en/option-files.html) then they will be used unless --no-defaults are given. To override the options from the options files one can give --basedir and --datadir to make mysql_install_db work for a non-privileged user. (please see the manual how to use command-line options and options file).

The confusion was that from 5.1.15 the file /etc/mysql/my.cnf was added as a global options file (and is not used in 5.0).

Is it possible to change the preference to prefer /etc/my.cnf over /etc/mysql/my.cnf ?

This will cause problems for lots of Ubuntu users installing MySQL as my.cnf is installed by 'mysql-common' which is installed for any mysql lclient using application.

Have had 2 customer issues with this so far.

Trent,

$ ./libexec/mysqld --verbose --help | less

Default options are read from the following files in the given order:
/etc/my.cnf /etc/mysql/my.cnf /home/miracee/mysql51bzr/etc/my.cnf ~/.my.cnf

Is that ok for you?

Seems to be fixed in actual 5.1 bzr tree.

Trent,

sorry, I made a mistake here. Order from help output seems not to be correct.

Please open an own bug report for it and start a discussion.