While MySQL can be run completely from the command line, it is very useful in many circumstances to have an interface that allows easy manipulation of the database structure. This can be especially helpful for some of the more complex SQL syntax structures such as creating a user and assigning a password or uploading a CSV (comma separated values) file. Additionally, when creating and modifying tables with a scripting language such as PHP, this can be very helpful for viewing and quickly seeing if the script is working. Below are two of the more popular interfaces for MariaDB, [[#SQL Buddy|SQLbuddy]] and [[#phpMyAdmin|phpMyAdmin]]; however, there are several others.

SQLbuddy is a very minimal user interface for MariaDB. It's advantage is that it is a light interface making it very fast. Also, it is not used as much as [[#phpMyAdmin|phpMyAdmin]], which means it is more secure due to being a smaller profile target. However, these advantages bring the disadvantage of SQLbuddy not having a heavy user interface including its lack of syntax highlighting for SQL queries.

SQLbuddy can be acquired from http://sqlbuddy.com/. This site will allow the user to download a zip file of the user interface. Move this file to the server using an ftp client (such as filezilla) and then use [[This Is Your Brain On Informatics: Linux|mv]] to move the zip file to the directory shown below. Remain there for the rest of installation.

If there are multiple files in the ''sqlbuddy'' directory, ignore the above command.

<div id="index.php">

Now, a configuration must be done in the ''www'' file so that the index.php will be recognized as the primary site. Go to the file shown below using [[This Is Your Brain On Informatics: Pico|pico]] (or any other text editor of your choice).

Sqlbuddy should now be able to be accessed by typing in ''yourservername/sqlbuddy'' into the browser.

Firefox is excellent at tracking history; however, because of this, anything that was done incorrectly during the setup of sqlbuddy, mariadb, or even php will be remembered by the browser. If firefox is your browser of choice, it will be necessary to clear any history, after doing any major troubleshooting in order to allow those changes to take effect in firefox.

The interface phpMyAdmin is actually one of the most popular web server database interface tools. Unfortunately, this comes with the downside of being the most common target for hackers, making it a much larger security vulnerability than SQLbuddy. Also, it is not quite as lightweight, meaning it is slightly slower (not really noticeably with small queries though). But what it lacks in those departments, it makes up in sheer user friendliness. It is very easy to use this interface to manipulate a database without even really knowing any SQL (something that should NOT be indulged in by someone writing code, but it still makes manipulations easy). If SQL is the way to go for you, the SQL editor will highlight the syntax intelligibly to make it easier to read and spot errors. The choice really depends on your needs: quick and nimble without unneeded bells and whistles or slightly slower with heavy user interface.

This is pretty much a repeat from above, so this time we'll use a slightly different method to show how it works. Go to http://www.phpmyadmin.net/ and right click on ''Download''. Then click on the selection that will copy the link to the clipboard (''copy link address'' for Google Chrome). Now go to the following location in the server and remain there for the rest of the installation:

phpMyAdmin should now be able to be accessed by typing in ''yourservername/phpMyAdmin'' into the browser.