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myisampack(1)





NAME

       myisampack - generate compressed, read-only MyISAM tables


SYNOPSIS

       myisampack [options] file_name ...


DESCRIPTION

       The myisampack utility compresses MyISAM tables.
       myisampack works by compressing each column in the table
       separately. Usually, myisampack packs the data file
       40%-70%.

       When the table is used later, the server reads into memory
       the information needed to decompress columns. This results
       in much better performance when accessing individual rows,
       because you only have to uncompress exactly one row.

       MySQL uses mmap() when possible to perform memory mapping
       on compressed tables. If mmap() does not work, MySQL falls
       back to normal read/write file operations.

       Please note the following:

       o  If the mysqld server was invoked with external locking
          disabled, it is not a good idea to invoke myisampack if
          the table might be updated by the server during the
          packing process. It is safest to compress tables with
          the server stopped.

       o  After packing a table, it becomes read-only. This is
          generally intended (such as when accessing packed
          tables on a CD). Allowing writes to a packed table is
          on our TODO list, but with low priority.

       o  myisampack can pack BLOB or TEXT columns. (The older
          pack_isam program for ISAM tables did not have this
          capability.)

       Invoke myisampack like this:

       shell> myisampack [options] file_name ...

       Each filename argument should be the name of an index
       (.MYI) file. If you are not in the database directory, you
       should specify the pathname to the file. It is permissible
       to omit the extension.

       After you compress a table with myisampack, you should use
       myisamchk -rq to rebuild its indexes.  myisamchk(1).

       myisampack supports the following options:

       o  --help, -?

          Display a help message and exit.

       o  --backup, -b

          Make a backup of each table's data file using the name
          tbl_name.OLD.

       o  --character-sets-dir=path

          The directory where character sets are installed. See
          Section 9.1, "The Character Set Used for Data and
          Sorting".

       o  --debug[=debug_options], -# [debug_options]

          Write a debugging log. The debug_options string often
          is 'd:t:o,file_name'.

       o  --force, -f

          Produce a packed table even if it becomes larger than
          the original or if the intermediate file from an
          earlier invocation of myisampack exists. (myisampack
          creates an intermediate file named tbl_name.TMD in the
          database directory while it compresses the table. If
          you kill myisampack, the file might not be deleted.)
          Normally, myisampack exits with an error if it finds
          that tbl_name.TMD exists. With --force, myisampack
          packs the table anyway.

       o  --join=big_tbl_name, -j big_tbl_name

          Join all tables named on the command line into a single
          table big_tbl_name. All tables that are to be combined
          must have identical structure (same column names and
          types, same indexes, and so forth).

       o  --packlength=len, -p len

          Specify the row length storage size, in bytes. The
          value should be 1, 2, or 3.  myisampack stores all rows
          with length pointers of 1, 2, or 3 bytes. In most
          normal cases, myisampack can determine the correct
          length value before it begins packing the file, but it
          may notice during the packing process that it could
          have used a shorter length. In this case, myisampack
          prints a note that you could use a shorter row length
          the next time you pack the same file.

       o  --silent, -s

          Silent mode. Write output only when errors occur.

       o  --test, -t

          Do not actually pack the table, just test packing it.

       o  --tmpdir=path, -T path

          Use the named directory as the location where myisamchk
          creates temporary files.

       o  --verbose, -v

          Verbose mode. Write information about the progress of
          the packing operation and its result.

       o  --version, -V

          Display version information and exit.

       o  --wait, -w

          Wait and retry if the table is in use. If the mysqld
          server was invoked with external locking disabled, it
          is not a good idea to invoke myisampack if the table
          might be updated by the server during the packing
          process.

       The following sequence of commands illustrates a typical
       table compression session:

       shell> ls -l station.*
       -rw-rw-r--   1 monty    my         994128 Apr 17 19:00 station.MYD
       -rw-rw-r--   1 monty    my          53248 Apr 17 19:00 station.MYI
       -rw-rw-r--   1 monty    my           5767 Apr 17 19:00 station.frm
       shell> myisamchk -dvv station
       MyISAM file:     station
       Isam-version:  2
       Creation time: 1996-03-13 10:08:58
       Recover time:  1997-02-02  3:06:43
       Data records:              1192  Deleted blocks:              0
       Datafile parts:            1192  Deleted data:                0
       Datafile pointer (bytes):     2  Keyfile pointer (bytes):     2
       Max datafile length:   54657023  Max keyfile length:   33554431
       Recordlength:               834
       Record format: Fixed length
       table description:
       Key Start Len Index   Type                 Root  Blocksize    Rec/key
       1   2     4   unique  unsigned long        1024       1024          1
       2   32    30  multip. text                10240       1024          1
       Field Start Length Type
       1     1     1
       2     2     4
       3     6     4
       4     10    1
       5     11    20
       6     31    1
       7     32    30
       8     62    35
       9     97    35
       10    132   35
       11    167   4
       12    171   16
       13    187   35
       14    222   4
       15    226   16
       16    242   20
       17    262   20
       18    282   20
       19    302   30
       20    332   4
       21    336   4
       22    340   1
       23    341   8
       24    349   8
       25    357   8
       26    365   2
       27    367   2
       28    369   4
       29    373   4
       30    377   1
       31    378   2
       32    380   8
       33    388   4
       34    392   4
       35    396   4
       36    400   4
       37    404   1
       38    405   4
       39    409   4
       40    413   4
       41    417   4
       42    421   4
       43    425   4
       44    429   20
       45    449   30
       46    479   1
       47    480   1
       48    481   79
       49    560   79
       50    639   79
       51    718   79
       52    797   8
       53    805   1
       54    806   1
       55    807   20
       56    827   4
       57    831   4
       shell> myisampack station.MYI
       Compressing station.MYI: (1192 records)
       - Calculating statistics
       normal:     20  empty-space:   16  empty-zero:     12  empty-fill:  11
       pre-space:   0  end-space:     12  table-lookups:   5  zero:         7
       Original trees:  57  After join: 17
       - Compressing file
       87.14%
       Remember to run myisamchk -rq on compressed tables
       shell> ls -l station.*
       -rw-rw-r--   1 monty    my         127874 Apr 17 19:00 station.MYD
       -rw-rw-r--   1 monty    my          55296 Apr 17 19:04 station.MYI
       -rw-rw-r--   1 monty    my           5767 Apr 17 19:00 station.frm
       shell> myisamchk -dvv station
       MyISAM file:     station
       Isam-version:  2
       Creation time: 1996-03-13 10:08:58
       Recover time:  1997-04-17 19:04:26
       Data records:               1192  Deleted blocks:              0
       Datafile parts:             1192  Deleted data:                0
       Datafile pointer (bytes):      3  Keyfile pointer (bytes):     1
       Max datafile length:    16777215  Max keyfile length:     131071
       Recordlength:                834
       Record format: Compressed
       table description:
       Key Start Len Index   Type                 Root  Blocksize    Rec/key
       1   2     4   unique  unsigned long       10240       1024          1
       2   32    30  multip. text                54272       1024          1
       Field Start Length Type                         Huff tree  Bits
       1     1     1      constant                             1     0
       2     2     4      zerofill(1)                          2     9
       3     6     4      no zeros, zerofill(1)                2     9
       4     10    1                                           3     9
       5     11    20     table-lookup                         4     0
       6     31    1                                           3     9
       7     32    30     no endspace, not_always              5     9
       8     62    35     no endspace, not_always, no empty    6     9
       9     97    35     no empty                             7     9
       10    132   35     no endspace, not_always, no empty    6     9
       11    167   4      zerofill(1)                          2     9
       12    171   16     no endspace, not_always, no empty    5     9
       13    187   35     no endspace, not_always, no empty    6     9
       14    222   4      zerofill(1)                          2     9
       15    226   16     no endspace, not_always, no empty    5     9
       16    242   20     no endspace, not_always              8     9
       17    262   20     no endspace, no empty                8     9
       18    282   20     no endspace, no empty                5     9
       19    302   30     no endspace, no empty                6     9
       20    332   4      always zero                          2     9
       21    336   4      always zero                          2     9
       22    340   1                                           3     9
       23    341   8      table-lookup                         9     0
       24    349   8      table-lookup                        10     0
       25    357   8      always zero                          2     9
       26    365   2                                           2     9
       27    367   2      no zeros, zerofill(1)                2     9
       28    369   4      no zeros, zerofill(1)                2     9
       29    373   4      table-lookup                        11     0
       30    377   1                                           3     9
       31    378   2      no zeros, zerofill(1)                2     9
       32    380   8      no zeros                             2     9
       33    388   4      always zero                          2     9
       34    392   4      table-lookup                        12     0
       35    396   4      no zeros, zerofill(1)               13     9
       36    400   4      no zeros, zerofill(1)                2     9
       37    404   1                                           2     9
       38    405   4      no zeros                             2     9
       39    409   4      always zero                          2     9
       40    413   4      no zeros                             2     9
       41    417   4      always zero                          2     9
       42    421   4      no zeros                             2     9
       43    425   4      always zero                          2     9
       44    429   20     no empty                             3     9
       45    449   30     no empty                             3     9
       46    479   1                                          14     4
       47    480   1                                          14     4
       48    481   79     no endspace, no empty               15     9
       49    560   79     no empty                             2     9
       50    639   79     no empty                             2     9
       51    718   79     no endspace                         16     9
       52    797   8      no empty                             2     9
       53    805   1                                          17     1
       54    806   1                                           3     9
       55    807   20     no empty                             3     9
       56    827   4      no zeros, zerofill(2)                2     9
       57    831   4      no zeros, zerofill(1)                2     9

       myisampack displays the following kinds of information:

       o  normal

          The number of columns for which no extra packing is
          used.

       o  empty-space

          The number of columns containing values that are only
          spaces. These occupy one bit.

       o  empty-zero

          The number of columns containing values that are only
          binary zeros. These occupy one bit.

       o  empty-fill

          The number of integer columns that do not occupy the
          full byte range of their type. These are changed to a
          smaller type. For example, a BIGINT column (eight
          bytes) can be stored as a TINYINT column (one byte) if
          all its values are in the range from -128 to 127.

       o  pre-space

          The number of decimal columns that are stored with
          leading spaces. In this case, each value contains a
          count for the number of leading spaces.

       o  end-space

          The number of columns that have a lot of trailing
          spaces. In this case, each value contains a count for
          the number of trailing spaces.

       o  table-lookup

          The column had only a small number of different values,
          which were converted to an ENUM before Huffman
          compression.

       o  zero

          The number of columns for which all values are zero.

       o  Original trees

          The initial number of Huffman trees.

       o  After join

          The number of distinct Huffman trees left after joining
          trees to save some header space.

       After a table has been compressed, myisamchk -dvv prints
       additional information about each column:

       o  Type

          The data type. The value may contain any of the
          following descriptors:

          o  constant

             All rows have the same value.

          o  no endspace

             Do not store endspace.

          o  no endspace, not_always

             Do not store endspace and do not do endspace
             compression for all values.

          o  no endspace, no empty

             Do not store endspace. Do not store empty values.

          o  table-lookup

             The column was converted to an ENUM.

          o  zerofill(N)

             The most significant N bytes in the value are always
             0 and are not stored.

          o  no zeros

             Do not store zeros.

          o  always zero

             Zero values are stored using one bit.

       o  Huff tree

          The number of the Huffman tree associated with the
          column.

       o  Bits

          The number of bits used in the Huffman tree.

       After you run myisampack, you must run myisamchk to
       re-create any indexes. At this time, you can also sort the
       index blocks and create statistics needed for the MySQL
       optimizer to work more efficiently:

       shell> myisamchk -rq --sort-index --analyze tbl_name.MYI

       After you have installed the packed table into the MySQL
       database directory, you should execute mysqladmin
       flush-tables to force mysqld to start using the new table.

       To unpack a packed table, use the --unpack option to
       myisamchk.


SEE ALSO

       msql2mysql(1), myisamchk(1), myisamlog(1), mysql(1),
       mysql.server(1), mysql_config(1),
       mysql_fix_privilege_tables(1), mysql_upgrade(1),
       mysql_zap(1), mysqlaccess(1), mysqladmin(1),
       mysqlbinlog(1), mysqlcheck(1), mysqld(1), mysqld_multi(1),
       mysqld_safe(1), mysqldump(1), mysqlhotcopy(1),
       mysqlimport(1), mysqlmanager(1), mysqlshow(1), perror(1),
       replace(1), safe_mysqld(1)

       For more information, please refer to the MySQL Reference
       Manual, which may already be installed locally and which
       is also available online at http://dev.mysql.com/doc/.


AUTHOR

       MySQL AB (http://www.mysql.com/).  This software comes
       with no warranty.

MySQL 5.0                   03/04/2006          FBMYISAMPACKFR(1)

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