To update the MySQL server,  you really do not have to run a patch.  That is a common question I was getting from people was where to get the patch.  You actually have to patch the OS and then from there run a command on MySQL.  If you’re OS doesn’t use zoneinfo, there is even a fix for this without having to reinstall a newer version of MySQL.

Taken from http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/time-zone-support.html:

If your system has its own zoneinfo database (the set of files describing time zones), you should use the mysql_tzinfo_to_sql program for filling the time zone tables. Examples of such systems are Linux, FreeBSD, Sun Solaris, and Mac OS X. One likely location for these files is the /usr/share/zoneinfo directory. If your system does not have a zoneinfo database, you can use the downloadable package described later in this section.

The mysql_tzinfo_to_sql program is used to load the time zone tables. On the command line, pass the zoneinfo directory pathname to mysql_tzinfo_to_sql and send the output into the mysql program. For example:

shell> mysql_tzinfo_to_sql /usr/share/zoneinfo | mysql -u root mysql   

mysql_tzinfo_to_sql reads your system’s time zone files and generates SQL statements from them. mysql processes those statements to load the time zone tables.

mysql_tzinfo_to_sql also can be used to load a single time zone file or to generate leap second information:

• To load a single time zone file tz_file that corresponds to a time zone name tz_name, invoke mysql_tzinfo_to_sql like this:

  shell> mysql_tzinfo_to_sql tz_file tz_name | mysql -u root mysql 

  With this approach, you must must execute a separate command to load the time zone file for each named zone that the server needs to know about.

• If your time zone needs to account for leap seconds, initialize the leap second information like this, where tz_file is the name of your time zone file:

  shell> mysql_tzinfo_to_sql --leap tz_file | mysql -u root mysql 

If your system is one that has no zoneinfo database (for example, Windows or HP-UX), you can use the package of pre-built time zone tables that is available for download at the MySQL Developer Zone:

http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/timezones.html   

This time zone package contains .frm, .MYD, and .MYI files for the MyISAM time zone tables. These tables should be part of the mysql database, so you should place the files in the mysql subdirectory of your MySQL server’s data directory. The server should be stopped while you do this and restarted afterward.

Warning: Do not use the downloadable package if your system has a zoneinfo database. Use the mysql_tzinfo_to_sql utility instead. Otherwise, you may cause a difference in datetime handling between MySQL and other applications on your system.

Just got the results in from MySQL … I’ve passed both the Certified MySQL Developer Part I and Part II exams.  I took one exam in March and the other in April, but both were beta exams.  That meant that I was not able to get results at the end of the exam.  I’ll put the certified logo up on this post once MySQL releases a certified logo.

I had taken the MySQL Beta Developer 5.0 Certificatino Exam a couple weeks ago.  Since it was a beta, I knew I would get my results for a good 8 – 12 weeks after the beta exams were supposed to end, which at that time was April 15th.  I stopped over at the MySQL website today, to get the information on the JDBC for MySQL.  That’s when I noticed that the beta exams were extended until May 15th.  I guess their website was not finished being updated, because a lot of places on the page still listed it as ending April 15th.

A bit frustrated with the new date, because I did not want to wait an additional 8 – 12 weeks after May 15th, I sent them an email asking when they intended for the results to be sent.  I was hoping that it was still inteded for 8 – 12 weeks after April 15th.  I quickly received an email from Carsten informing me that they will be grading the exams right after May 15th and that he strongly suspects that I will see the results from my certification exam before the end of May.  Woohoo.

Since the certification has been extended another month, I think I might consider taking the first certification exam for the MySQL 5.0 Administrator certification.  Haven’t decided on that though since I also want to get some Java certifications soon.