title: Meaning of 'Default Database' in MySQL
body: <p>I was going through the specifications for loading data into and from MySQL tables at <a href="http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.1/en/load-data.html" rel="nofollow">dev.mysql</a>, when I came across the specifications for the <code>local</code> option in the <code>load infile data</code> command. It says that if <code>local</code> is not used, then <strong>if a file name with no leading components is given, the server looks for the file in the database directory of the default database</strong>. Can anyone tell me what is meant by <strong>default database</strong> here, and how to set one? Can it be set from within MySQL itself, or through some server directive?</p>