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I am on a Linux ubuntu machine with MySQL installed.

My teacher gave out an assignment which mentioned "copy cars.dat to /data/tmp on the MySQL database server" without any explanations, I do not know what is the "/data/tmp on database server" means exactly?

Basically after that I need to execute SQL statement like

LOAD DATA INFILE '/data/tmp/cars.dat' INTO TABLE cars

So, what does copy cars.dat to /data/tmp on the database server means as there is no /data/tmp directory even?

Personally, I checked /etc/mysql/my.cnf file, inside which there are definitions of :

...
basedir     = /usr
datadir     = /var/lib/mysql
tmpdir      = /tmp
...

Does it mean to copy cars.dat to the tmpdir which is just /tmp under root directory??

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closed as not constructive by mdpc, mrdenny Nov 30 '11 at 18:32

As it currently stands, this question is not a good fit for our Q&A format. We expect answers to be supported by facts, references, or expertise, but this question will likely solicit debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. If you feel that this question can be improved and possibly reopened, visit the help center for guidance.If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

1 Answer 1

up vote 2 down vote accepted

Hmm, sounds like he's used to a Solaris system maybe?

I'd say do one of:

  1. copy cars.dat to a directory of your choice (your home, /tmp, etc) and change the path in LOAD DATA INFILE
  2. create /data/tmp with sudo mkdir -p /data/tmp and carry on
  3. ask your teacher
  4. dog ate my homework
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