MySQL the command line and pagers

Question

I cant find anything about this from searching here.

I use mysql on the command line at work and I work with fairly large tables so I set the mysql pager allowing a more readable result if I run a query, that returns 1000's of results. I use the command below to set the pager.

\P less -Sin

This suits my needs but has left me wondering if there are any more pager styles that mysql uses on the command line.

Answer 1

The MySQL client just passes its output to whatever command you specify with \P (for "Pager").

-Sin are commandline switches to the program less. From man less:

-i Causes searches to ignore case
-n Suppresses line numbers
-S Causes lines longer than the screen width to be chopped rather than folded.

For more options of the MySQL client, see reference.

Answer 2

mysql> pager less
PAGER set to 'less'

Answer 3

This post is old, but still very helpful.

You can set the pager to whatever you want, including a script that parses all output before feeding it back to you. The examples there include using an add-on tool that makes EXPLAIN output more readable.

_{Also note that to turn off this functionality and return to normal stdout the command is nopager.}

Answer 4

If you don't like less you can use more :)

\P more

Answer 5

You might want to try pspg: Unix pager designed for work with tables. Designed for PostgreSQL, but MySQL is supported too.

Main target

• possibility to freeze first few rows, first few columns

• possibility to use fancy colors - like mcview or FoxPro

In action: