Importing _mysql in MySQLdb

Question

Why is _mysql in the MySQLdb module a C file? When the module tries to import it, I get an import error. What should I do?

Answer 1

It's the adaptor that sits between the Python MySQLdb module and the C libmysqlclient library. One of the most common reasons for it not loading is that the appropriate libmysqlclient library is not in place.

Answer 2

Edit : This might be the answer to your question.

When I try to import _mysql , I get no error:

import _mysql
print(_mysql)
# <module '_mysql' from '/usr/lib/pymodules/python2.6/_mysql.so'>

It is importing the library /usr/lib/pymodules/python2.6/_mysql.so

If this is not what you are getting, it sounds like an installation error. What OS are you using? How did you install mysqldb?