A schema is a database, so the SCHEMATA table provides information about databases.
mysql> desc INFORMATION_SCHEMA.SCHEMATA; +----------------------------+--------------+------+-----+---------+-------+ | Field | Type | Null | Key | Default | Extra | +----------------------------+--------------+------+-----+---------+-------+ | CATALOG_NAME | varchar(512) | YES | | NULL | | | SCHEMA_NAME | varchar(64) | NO | | | | | DEFAULT_CHARACTER_SET_NAME | varchar(64) | NO | | | | | DEFAULT_COLLATION_NAME | varchar(64) | NO | | | | | SQL_PATH | varchar(512) | YES | | NULL | | +----------------------------+--------------+------+-----+---------+-------+ 5 rows in set (0.00 sec)
The following statements are equivalent:
SELECT SCHEMA_NAME AS `Database` FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.SCHEMATA [WHERE SCHEMA_NAME LIKE 'wild'] SHOW DATABASES [LIKE 'wild']
25.8.INFORMATION_SCHEMA | ||||
25.8.1. | The INFORMATION_SCHEMA Database | |||
25.8.2. | The INFORMATION_SCHEMA.SCHEMATA Table | |||
25.8.3. | The INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES Table | |||
25.8.4. | The INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS Table | |||
25.8.5. | The INFORMATION_SCHEMA.STATISTICS Table | |||
25.8.6. | The INFORMATION_SCHEMA.USER_PRIVILEGES Table | |||
25.8.7. | The INFORMATION_SCHEMA.SCHEMA_PRIVILEGES Table | |||
25.8.8. | The INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_PRIVILEGES Table | |||
25.8.9. | The INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMN_PRIVILEGES Table | |||
25.8.10. | The INFORMATION_SCHEMA.CHARACTER_SETS Table | |||
25.8.11. | The INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLLATIONS Table | |||
25.8.12. | The INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLLATION_CHARACTER_SET_APPLICABILITY Table | |||
25.8.13. | The INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_CONSTRAINTS Table | |||
25.8.14. | The INFORMATION_SCHEMA KEY_COLUMN_USAGE Table | |||
25.8.15. | The INFORMATION_SCHEMA ROUTINES Table | |||
25.8.16. | The INFORMATION_SCHEMA.VIEWS Table | |||
25.8.17. | The INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TRIGGERS Table | |||
25.8.18. | The INFORMATION_SCHEMA.PROFILING Table |