Go to www.mysql.com and then to the downloads section.
There is a gui administration tool (Setting up a test database on your home machine should be easy - I've had a couple issues on some machines though).
There is also a query browser tool. A graphical database layout tool is there as well, it is still beta however.
I do not think the visual studio graphical based database designer (the one for setting up connections and data objects) works with mysql databases yet. It is possible to connect in code by howerver - and there are examples of how to do so on the Mysql website forums.
I'm currently using mysql with VB6 and will be upgrading the program to .NET (C# or probably VB) after the initial version is live. I've found mysql to be as fast as oracle and Sql Server. On the features side the triggers and procedures in mysql are not as full featured as those in sql server or oracle but it is a new feature that should expand over time.
Finally for learning time, I spent a couple days getting used to the basics of mysql from sql server, which compares favorably with the couple weeks it took to get comfortable with sql server when I switched over from oracle (switched is not quite right, I use all three for different projects at the moment, mostly mysql now though)
There is a gui administration tool (Setting up a test database on your home machine should be easy - I've had a couple issues on some machines though).
There is also a query browser tool. A graphical database layout tool is there as well, it is still beta however.
I do not think the visual studio graphical based database designer (the one for setting up connections and data objects) works with mysql databases yet. It is possible to connect in code by howerver - and there are examples of how to do so on the Mysql website forums.
I'm currently using mysql with VB6 and will be upgrading the program to .NET (C# or probably VB) after the initial version is live. I've found mysql to be as fast as oracle and Sql Server. On the features side the triggers and procedures in mysql are not as full featured as those in sql server or oracle but it is a new feature that should expand over time.
Finally for learning time, I spent a couple days getting used to the basics of mysql from sql server, which compares favorably with the couple weeks it took to get comfortable with sql server when I switched over from oracle (switched is not quite right, I use all three for different projects at the moment, mostly mysql now though)