mysql> SHOW DATABASES; +----------+ | Database | +----------+ | mysql | | test | | tmp | +----------+ The mysql database describes user access privileges. The test database often is available as a workspace for users to try things out. The list of databases displayed by the statement may be different on your machine; SHOW DATABASES does not show databases that you have no privileges for if you do not have the SHOW DATABASES privilege. See Section 13.7.7.14, “SHOW DATABASES Statement”. If the test database exists, try to access it: mysql> USE test Database changed USE, like QUIT, does not require a semicolon. (You can terminate such statements with a semicolon if you like; it does no harm.) The USE statement is special in another way, too: it must be given on a single line. You can use the test database (if you have access to it) for the examples that follow, but anything you create in that database can be removed by anyone else with access to it. For this reason, you