databases/mysql51-server and beginner's InnoDB questions

[Morgan Wesström]

Jeremy Chadwick wrote:
> I'm wondering why you're asking MySQL-specific questions on
> freebsd-ports.  Questions I didn't answer should be punted to the MySQL
> folks, they're quite helpful.

Lol, thanks Jeremy. In an earlier "incident" I asked net-snmp questions 
directly to the developers and the reply was that "Those FreeBSD guys 
have their own patches and we have no clue what they do, ask them!". I 
intended to not make the same mistake this time and now I don't have any 
more cheeks to turn... or wait - I do have two more :-)

> First and foremost: I don't know where you got the idea that InnoDB is
> preferred.  Whoever told you that is flat out wrong.  You need to spend
> some more time reading up on the pros/cons to all of the MySQL storage
> engine types.

Well, I was referring to the way it stores its indexes sorted and also 
the transaction log which makes crash recoveries more or less 
independent on db size. Things I thought was default for any SQL engine 
but realized today that MyISAM lacked, unless I'm misinformed.

   InnoDB happens to be one of the most horrendous ones to
> deal with from an administrative point of view.  It's always great when
> the InnoDB part is out of sync with /var/db/mysql/database/whatever.*,
> which can often happen during replication errors or bugs.

Yes, I can see from googling that there are frequent bugreports related 
to this but bugs are there to work out, aren't they? :-)

> My advice to people is to avoid InnoDB unless you *specifically* have
> engineered an application that will make use of it.  MyISAM is a lot
> easier to deal with.

I take your word for it. I simply have an urge to try to better 
understand the applications I use in FreeBSD without having to read and 
understand source code.

>> "# Uncomment the following if you are using InnoDB tables"
> 
> Ignore that.  I can tell you're flailing around with config files.  :-)
> You can look at the compile-time defaults of InnoDB by using "SHOW
> VARIABLES", and performance using "SHOW STATUS".  Please read the
> MySQL docs.

I am but I'm a slow reader. ;-)

>> _First question:_
>> Is InnoDB enabled by default regardless of the settings in my.cnf and  
>> how can I verify it?
> 
> It's enabled by default.

Is InnoDB enabled by the FreeBSD port maintainer and shouldn't that 
somehow be reflected in the config sample files in that case? At least I 
get a little confused from the fact that they were all commented out and 
the text instructed me to uncomment them to enable InnoDB.

>> _Third question:_
>> Is this an issue with the FreeBSD port specifically? Should I report  
>> this to someone and how would I do that the correct way?
> 
> None of what you've described (I snipped the portions out) are specific
> to the FreeBSD port.  They are purely configuration issues, and are
> with MySQL.  You should discuss your issues with the MySQL people.
> 
> Cheers!
> 

Thanks for your valuable input Jeremy and for not kicking me more than 
necessary. ;-)

Regards
Morgan