Check

SELECT * FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.INNODB_SYS_TABLES WHERE NAME LIKE 'myDatabase/myTable' \G

SHOW TABLE STATUS LIKE 'mytable'\G

Create

Configuration

Default: DYNAMIC

SELECT @@innodb_default_row_format;

You can override the default row format during a CREATE or ALTER TABLE operation if required. 

• DYNAMIC - The DYNAMIC row format offers the same storage characteristics as the COMPACT row format but adds enhanced storage capabilities for long variable-length columns and supports large index key prefixes (1). Valid for Barracuda File Format only.

• COMPACT - The COMPACT row format reduces row storage space by about 20% compared to the REDUNDANT row format, at the cost of increasing CPU use for some operations. If your workload is a typical one that is limited by cache hit rates and disk speed, COMPACT format is likely to be faster. If the workload is limited by CPU speed, compact format might be slower (1). Valid for Antelope and Barracuda File Formats.

• REDUNDANT - The REDUNDANT format provides compatibility with older versions of MySQL (1). Valid for Antelope and Barracuda File Formats.

The COMPRESSED row format, which is not supported for use in the system tablespace, cannot be defined as the default. The COMPRESSED row format offers the same storage characteristics and capabilities as the DYNAMIC row format but adds support for table and index data compression (1). Valid for Barracuda File Format only.

To see the row format of a specific table...

SELECT *
  FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.INNODB_SYS_TABLES
  WHERE NAME LIKE 'mydb/mytable' \G

To ovverride the default row format at table level...

ALTER TABLE mytable ROW_FORMAT=COMPRESSED;

Default: 1 (ON)

SELECT @@innodb_file_per_table;

This configuration option controls whether each table has its own .frm and .ibd files in your database directory.

• 1 - ON

• 0 - OFF

SELECT @@innodb_checksum_algorithm;

Specifies how to generate and verify the checksum stored in the disk blocks of InnoDB tablespaces. crc32 is the default value as of MySQL 5.7.7. (2)

SELECT @@lower_case_table_names;

This configuration option controls whether each table name is case-insensitive.

lower_case_table_names can only be configured when initializing the server.
Changing the lower_case_table_names setting after the server is initialized is prohibited. (3)

Load Data

To load data from a CSV file...

LOAD DATA INFILE '/tmp/myfile.csv' INTO TABLE myTable

FIELDS TERMINATED BY ',' 

LINES TERMINATED BY '\n';

Running Optimize regularly is not recommended.
Optimize only when there is likely to be a benefit. For example, if you have performed a bulk DELETE of many records (which you do not expect to be replaced).

Troubleshooting

Check for Errors

At its simplest...

CHECK TABLE myTable;

Do not scan the rows for incorrect links.

CHECK TABLE myTable QUICK;

ERROR 2013 (HY000): Lost connection to MySQL server during query

If this happens during a DDL operation (e.g. ALTER TABLE) you could be left with some temporary tables identifiable (assuming you are using innodb_file_per_table) by a leading hash (#). To get rid of them you may need to do this (2)...

DROP TABLE`#mysql50##temporarytablename`;

Bibliography & References