I've been very fortunate, it seems...I'm totally new to Python/Zope/MySQL and I got the lot working without a glitch. I'm running FreeBSD4.2, but I can't think that things should be that much harder on Linux....here's how I did it.... - Python 2 installed and running OK - Zope 2.3.0 installed and running OK ...I assume you got this far, maybe different versions though... - Installed mysql-client-3.23.35 (not a Zope product, but the client part of the MySQL suite) from a package...I think this package is available for Linux too...This is needed to be able to do the following step. I chose the package and not the source not to embarras myself hunting down system specific compile options and paths and stuff... - Got hold of MySQL-python-0.3.5.tar.gz (ZOPE DA) from zope.org I think...Untarred the lot and read the README file....there's some special mention of Linux and other package-based releases of mysql(client) installed in the previous step...seems you MIGHT have to look for a 'developers' package too, but I tried without and it worked. I noticed README could cause some confusion on exactly what you need to install first...it says 'MySQL 3.22.19 or higher', but I understood I need (in my case) only mysql-client-3.23.35 or something similar...you don't need something like mysql-server-xx.xx.xx, cause the server could be run anywhere else. Of course, you could install the server too, but that's an entirely different matter. So make sure you've got the 'server' thingie installed from the previous step, and maybe something like mysql-devel-3.23.35, in your case. - So up to now I didn't compile anything. mysql-client was a package, and MySQL-python from the previous step is just sitting there untarred. The README mentions stuff you might need to hack in setup.py, but I didn't touch it, and I don't think you'd need to. Then I just did as they say in the README: python setup.py build and python setup.py install. The whole cadoodle just went fine. - I stopped my Zope (./stop from zope folder) and restarted it (./start). - Connected to Zope as admin, and saw the item 'Z mySQL Database Connection' added to the add new items box. Needless to say, I've been able to really use the mySQL connection in Zope. It seems you've downloaded another version/distribution of the Zope mySQL DA that you've had to 'make'. Have you tried 'gmake'? Otherwise, go for the MySQL-python-0.3.5.tar.gz file I used. lemme know if it works...