I tried to keep everything as simple as possible by providing backups from
MySql-Administrator. You can source in a shell, but you can better use the "Restore" option with MySql-admin, which is very easy to use, and auto-deletes tables you are replacing. You can also easily set users, permissions, etc. with this tool (and make your own backups).
I also have and use
MySql Query Browser, which aside from being very easy to use, keeps history of you queries (so you can re-use), bookmarks, and bottom right corner window for help with commands, functions, etc.