is there a way to have mysql start automatically? now on reboot i have to type mysqld_safe to start it.

thanks

Try running:
chkconfig mysqld on

i get unknown service????

It might be mysql instead of mysqld. The following command will list all configured services.
chkconfig --list

chkconfig is the command line routine to configure services. If the previous command shows mysql then to configre mysql start at boot.
chkconfig --level 35 mysql on

To start mysql using the init scripts:
service mysql start

Its been awhile since I've played with SuSE but yast should be able to configure services to run at boot.

If you installed mysql from source then you will need to add the startup scripts to init.d or add a line to the rc.local file to start mysql.

In Yast you should be able to pick to install/uninstall software packages, under the section for MySQL make sure you select "mysql server", it should setup the startup script for you.