MySQL Shell: Built-In Help

PS: MySQL> mysqlsh --help
MySQL Shell 8.0.12

Copyright (c) 2016, 2018, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its
affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective
owners.

Usage: mysqlsh [OPTIONS] [URI]
       mysqlsh [OPTIONS] [URI] -f <path> [script args...]
       mysqlsh [OPTIONS] [URI] --dba [command]
       mysqlsh [OPTIONS] [URI] --cluster

  -?, --help                    Display this help and exit.
  -e, --execute=<cmd>           Execute command and quit.
  -f, --file=file               Process file.
  --uri=value                   Connect to Uniform Resource Identifier. Format:
                                [user[:pass]@]host[:port][/db]
  -h, --host=name               Connect to host.
  -P, --port=#                  Port number to use for connection.
...

mysql-py> \?
The Shell Help is organized in categories and topics. To get help for a
specific category or topic use: \? <pattern>

The <pattern> argument should be the name of a category or a topic.

The pattern is a filter to identify topics for which help is required, it can
use the following wildcards:

- ? matches any single charecter.
- * matches any character sequence.

The following are the main help categories:

 - AdminAPI       Introduces to the dba global object and the InnoDB cluster
                  administration API.
 - Shell Commands Provides details about the available built-in shell commands.
 - ShellAPI       Contains information about the shell and util global objects
                  as well as the mysql module that enables executing SQL on
                  MySQL Servers.
 - SQL Syntax     Entry point to retrieve syntax help on SQL statements.
 - X DevAPI       Details the mysqlx module as well as the capabilities of the
                  X DevAPI which enable working with MySQL as a Document Store

The available topics include:

- The dba global object and the classes available at the AdminAPI.
- The mysqlx module and the classes available at the X DevAPI.
- The mysql module and the global objects and classes available at the
  ShellAPI.
- The functions and properties of the classes exposed by the APIs.
- The available shell commands.
- Any word that is part of an SQL statement.

SHELL COMMANDS

The shell commands allow executing specific operations including updating the
shell configuration.

The following shell commands are available:

 - \                   Start multi-line input when in SQL mode.
 - \connect    (\c)    Connects the shell to a MySQL server and assigns the
                       global session.
 - \exit               Exits the MySQL Shell, same as \quit.
 - \help       (\?,\h) Prints help information about a specific topic.
 - \history            View and edit command line history.
 - \js                 Switches to JavaScript processing mode.
 - \nowarnings (\w)    Don't show warnings after every statement.
 - \option             Allows working with the available shell options.
 - \py                 Switches to Python processing mode.
 - \quit       (\q)    Exits the MySQL Shell.
 - \reconnect          Reconnects the global session.
 - \rehash             Refresh the autocompletion cache.
 - \source     (\.)    Loads and executes a script from a file.
 - \sql                Switches to SQL processing mode.
 - \status     (\s)    Print information about the current global session.
 - \use        (\u)    Sets the active schema.
 - \warnings   (\W)    Show warnings after every statement.

GLOBAL OBJEECTS

The following modules and objects are ready for use when the shell starts:

 - dba    Used for InnoDB cluster administration.
 - mysql  Support for connecting to MySQL servers using the classic MySQL
          protocol.
 - mysqlx Used to work with X Protocol sessions using the MySQL X DevAPI.
 - shell  Gives access to general purpose functions and properties.
 - util   Global object that groups miscellaneous tools like upgrade checker.

For additional information on these global objects use: <object>.help()

EXAMPLES
\? AdminAPI
      Displays information about the AdminAPI.

\? \connect
      Displays usage details for the \connect command.

\? check_instance_configuration
      Displays usage details for the dba.check_instance_configuration function.

\? sql syntax
      Displays the main SQL help categories.

mysql-py> \? mysqlx.Table.select
NAME
      select - Creates a TableSelect object to retrieve rows from the table.

SYNTAX
      Table.select(...)
           [.where([expression])]
           [.group_by(...)[.having(condition)]]
           [.order_by(...)]
           [.limit(numberOfRows)[.offset(numberOfRows)]]
           [.lock_shared([lockContention])]
           [.lock_exclusive([lockContention])]
           [.bind(name, value)]
           [.execute()]

DESCRIPTION
      This function creates a TableSelect object which is a record selection
      handler.

      This handler will retrieve all the columns for each included record.

      The TableSelect class has several functions that allow specifying what
      records should be retrieved from the table, if a searchCondition was
      specified, it will be set on the handler.

      The selection will be returned when the execute function is called on the
      handler.
...

mysql-py> \? SQL Syntax/SELECT
Syntax:
SELECT
    [ALL | DISTINCT | DISTINCTROW ]
      [HIGH_PRIORITY]
      [STRAIGHT_JOIN]
      [SQL_SMALL_RESULT] [SQL_BIG_RESULT] [SQL_BUFFER_RESULT]
      [SQL_CACHE | SQL_NO_CACHE] [SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS]
    select_expr [, select_expr ...]
    [FROM table_references
      [PARTITION partition_list]
    [WHERE where_condition]
    [GROUP BY {col_name | expr | position}
      [ASC | DESC], ... [WITH ROLLUP]]
    [HAVING where_condition]
    [WINDOW window_name AS (window_spec)
        [, window_name AS (window_spec)] ...]
    [ORDER BY {col_name | expr | position}
      [ASC | DESC], ...]
    [LIMIT {[offset,] row_count | row_count OFFSET offset}]
    [INTO OUTFILE 'file_name'
        [CHARACTER SET charset_name]
        export_options
      | INTO DUMPFILE 'file_name'
      | INTO var_name [, var_name]]
    [FOR UPDATE | LOCK IN SHARE MODE]]
    [FOR {UPDATE | SHARE} [OF tbl_name [, tbl_name] ...] [NOWAIT | SKIP LOCKED] 
      | LOCK IN SHARE MODE]]

SELECT is used to retrieve rows selected from one or more tables, and
can include UNION statements and subqueries. See [HELP UNION], and
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.0/en/subqueries.html. A SELECT
statement can start with a WITH clause to define common table
expressions accessible within the SELECT. See
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.0/en/with.html.

...

URL: http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.0/en/select.html


mysql-py> \sql
Switching to SQL mode... Commands end with ;

mysql-sql> \? select
Syntax:
SELECT
    [ALL | DISTINCT | DISTINCTROW ]
      [HIGH_PRIORITY]
      [STRAIGHT_JOIN]
      [SQL_SMALL_RESULT] [SQL_BIG_RESULT] [SQL_BUFFER_RESULT]
      [SQL_CACHE | SQL_NO_CACHE] [SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS]
    select_expr [, select_expr ...]
    [FROM table_references
      [PARTITION partition_list]
    [WHERE where_condition]
    [GROUP BY {col_name | expr | position}
      [ASC | DESC], ... [WITH ROLLUP]]
    [HAVING where_condition]
    [WINDOW window_name AS (window_spec)
        [, window_name AS (window_spec)] ...]
    [ORDER BY {col_name | expr | position}
      [ASC | DESC], ...]
    [LIMIT {[offset,] row_count | row_count OFFSET offset}]
    [INTO OUTFILE 'file_name'
        [CHARACTER SET charset_name]
        export_options
      | INTO DUMPFILE 'file_name'
      | INTO var_name [, var_name]]
    [FOR UPDATE | LOCK IN SHARE MODE]]
    [FOR {UPDATE | SHARE} [OF tbl_name [, tbl_name] ...] [NOWAIT | SKIP LOCKED] 
      | LOCK IN SHARE MODE]]

SELECT is used to retrieve rows selected from one or more tables, and
can include UNION statements and subqueries. See [HELP UNION], and
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.0/en/subqueries.html. A SELECT
statement can start with a WITH clause to define common table
expressions accessible within the SELECT. See
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.0/en/with.html.
...

mysql-py> \use world
Default schema `world` accessible through db.

mysql-py> city = db.get_table('city')
mysql-py> city.help()
NAME
      Table - Represents a Table on an Schema, retrieved with a session created
              using mysqlx module.

DESCRIPTION
      Represents a Table on an Schema, retrieved with a session created using
      mysqlx module.

PROPERTIES
      name
            The name of this database object.

      schema
            The Schema object of this database object.

      session
            The Session object of this database object.

FUNCTIONS
      delete()
            Creates a record deletion handler.

      exists_in_database()
            Verifies if this object exists in the database.

      get_name()
            Returns the name of this database object.

      get_schema()
            Returns the Schema object of this database object.

      get_session()
            Returns the Session object of this database object.

      help([member])
            Provides help about this class and it's members

      insert(...)
            Creates TableInsert object to insert new records into the table.

      is_view()
            Indicates whether this Table object represents a View on the
            database.

      select(...)
            Creates a TableSelect object to retrieve rows from the table.

      update()
            Creates a record update handler.