MySQL and MariaDB are not always present in the base Linux distribution. They can be installed as either mysql-server and mysql-client or the mariadb-server package. The MariaDB distribution uses MySQL as a command and is sometimes installed when the MySQL package is requested.

MySQL supports a username and password for authentication. You will be prompted for a password during the installation.

Use the mysql command to create a new database on a fresh installation. After you create the database with the CREATE DATABASE command, you can select it for use with the use command. Once a database is selected, standard SQL commands can be used to create tables and insert data:

$> mysql -user=root -password=PASSWORD

Welcome to the MariaDB monitor.  Commands end with ; or \g.
Your MariaDB connection id is 44
Server version: 10.0.29-MariaDB-0+deb8u1 (Debian)

Copyright (c) 2000, 2016, Oracle, MariaDB Corporation Ab and others.

Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the current input statement.

MariaDB [(none)]> CREATE DATABASE test1;
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.00 sec)
MariaDB [(none)]> use test1;

The quit command or Ctrl-D will terminate a mysql interactive session.