1) macbookpoe:~% mysql -BN -e 'select count(1) from information_schema.TABLES where TABLE_SCHEMA="test" and TABLE_NAME="moo"' 1 1) macbookpoe:~% mysql -BN -e 'select count(1) from information_schema.TABLES where TABLE_SCHEMA="test" and TABLE_NAME="moue"' 0