MacLochlainns Weblog

After installing and configuring MySQL 8.0.30, I installed the Python connector. During that process on AlmaLinux, there were several changes since I last installed the Python’s mysql module. Here are the step-by-step instructions after installing and configuring MySQL Server (blog for those steps).

Using the MySQL Connector/Python X DevAPI Reference, you must install the pip utility before you install the library. You install the pip library as a sudoer user with the following command:

sudo yum install -y pip

Then, using the pip utility as a sudoer user install the mysql-connector-python module with the following command:

sudo pip install mysql-connector-python

Please note that this type of library installation can cause problems when you maintain multiple testing environments. If you plan to maintain multiple testing environments, please install this library in a virtual environment.

You create a bare-bones Python connection test program, like connect.py below:

# Import the library.
import mysql.connector
from mysql.connector import errorcode
 
try:
  # Open connection.
  cnx = mysql.connector.connect(user='student',
                                password='student',
                                host='127.0.0.1',
                                database='studentdb')
 
  # Print the value.
  print("Database connection resolved.")
 
# Handle exception and close connection.
except mysql.connector.Error as e:
  if e.errno == errorcode.ER_ACCESS_DENIED_ERROR:
    print("Something is wrong with your user name or password")
  elif e.errno == errorcode.ER_BAD_DB_ERROR:
    print("Database does not exist")
  else:
    print(e)
 
# Close the connection when the try block completes.
else:
  cnx.close()

You test the connect.py program with this command:

python connect.py

It’ll return the following provided you provisioned the student user and studentdb database:

Database connection resolved.

If you’d like to run it without calling the python executable, you can add the following as the first line:

#/usr/bin/python

and, change the default file permissions from

-rw-rw-r--. 1 student student 717 Oct 30 13:57 connect.py

with the chmod command to

-rwxr-xr-x. 1 student student 717 Oct 30 13:57 connect.py

These instructions should set you up to develop Python code against your AlmaLinux MySQL studentdb database. You use this syntax, assuming a default $PATH environment variable that excludes the present working directory.

./connect.py

As always, I hope this helps those trying to get a complete solution.