"mysql" offers a big list of command line options. Here are some commonly used options:

► "-?" - Displays a help message on how to use "mysql" and terminates the program.

► "-u userName" - Specifies a user name for the server to authenticate when connecting to the server.

► "-p[password]" - Specifies a password for the server to authenticate when connecting to the server.

► "-h hostName" - Specifies a host name where the MySQL server is running. The default host name "localhost".

► "-P portNumber" - Specifies a port number where the MySQL server is listening for connections. The default port number is 3306.

► "-e command" - Executes the specified command and terminates the program.

► "-t" - Specifies that the query output is displayed in text table format. This is the default display format for interactive mode.

► "-H" - Specifies that the query output is displayed in HTML table format.

► "-X" - Specifies that the query output is displayed in XML element format.