Product Description

The MySQL Phrasebook is a pocket guide that is jam-packed with useful and essential code "phrases" for the MySQL developer's everyday use. Packed with practical solutions for tasks that the MySQL developer must accomplish every day, it fills the need for a short, functional, to-the-point reference for MySQL. This is the guide to consult when you need an immediate, applicable solution to frequent tasks and code that is flexible and adaptable to your needs. Your time won't be wasted on more tutorials — it simply puts essential "phrases" at your fingertips that you can take with you everywhere.

Customer Reviews (5)

Book Review from Silicon Valley Web Builder (SVWB)
I will never estimate how practical and useful a pocket guide are. This pocket guide can replace a standard developer book on MySQL as far as covering the most essential details to create, design, develop and maintain MySQL database. Sometimes bigger book with more pages does not offer you more concise knowledge. This pocket guide gives you the reference links that would save you time and effort in filtering search results and identifying appropriate documentation. At last the Appendix on "A Brief MySQL Tutorial" is one of the best written tutorial in MySQL using a simple application with code samples and chronological tasks.

MySQL Phrasebook

Nice Reference
This book is pretty nice. It's fairly handy.However, I'm inclined to group it in the beginner-intermediate range (not that it's advertised otherwise).

The majority of the times that I've picked it up to investigate things that I wasn't sure about/had never attempted, I failed to find them in the index.Thumbing through the book to find various things I find a proliferation of information that any experienced user (note--I've only been using MySQL for a year now) will almost certainly not need to look up.

Don't get me wrong, it is a very useful book; it's just that most of the times I reach for it, I find myself disappointed and getting another book or looking online.

Very Elementary Subjects Covered!
This book should be titled Mysql Short Tutorial instead. I am no mysql expert myself with only 1 month experience, but I find the phrases and subjects covered to be very basic! The book does cover a wide variety of subjects with a systematic presentation such that it reads more like a short tutorial rather than a reference book. Just because you make the book small doesn't make it a good reference book! Also, the paper quality is poor - very thin and easily torn! I recommend looking at the o'reilly pocket references/ guides instead.

Good Little Book
I got my hands on several copies of the new Phrasebook series from Developer's Library back in April 2006 but as they were intended as handouts at my conference talks, I could not hold onto them long enough to review them. I've since managed to hold onto a copy of the MySQL Phrasebook long enough to review it and consider it worth the wait.

The MySQL Phrasebook makes a useful companion for a beginning MySQL administrator or developer looking for a guide that can be carried along wherever they happen to be coding. It comes with a useful overview of the MySQL architecture followed by useful information organized by use-case.

There are useful chapters on APIs, advanced queries and troubleshooting that I found particularly nice. As an occasional developer, having a simple sample PHP script is usually all I need to reference when developing and I was happy to see that the included example was written against the mysqli provider instead of the older mysql provider.

In addition to being quite useful, the price is certainly right at at list of $14.99 (less on Amazon). At just over 150 pages in pocket format I wouldn't expect to pay much more, but I'm happy to see that the price is reasonable.

This phrasebook, along with its PHP and Apache companions, will certainly accompany me on future coding trips where other reference materials would prove too bulky.

Great reference tool
It's a very light book, slightly taller than your average paper back, weighing in at only 181 pages. In those pages the authors have managed to cram in lots of different types of information: From a basic introduction to the relational database model, to basic administration information, to query design and code examples in C, PHP & Perl. That's a lot of information for such a tiny book, so necessarily the coverage is brief. Fortunately the authors managed to hone in on the information from each section that would be most useful to the reader, and concentrate on that.

The "phrases" the book introduces deal are basically short little answers to questions that come up frequently when working with MySQL (I might say that a Phrasebook Sam's pocketbook version of O'Reilly's cookbooks). Starting off with basic things like select queries, and moving up to cross table queries (incidentally I finally understand the difference between an inner and outer join). It also goes into performance tips, server administration, and backups.

If you're already well versed in the world of MySQL, this isn't the book for you. However, if you're anything like me, someone who uses MySQL a lot for a few basic things but doesn't really know much beyond that, this book will be a good addition to your reference library. If you're just getting started with MySQL this book isn't going to teach you everything you know, but will help answer some questions for you along the way.

Overall I'd recommend this book to most of my friends. ... Read more

Product Description

Over 60 simple but incredibly effective recipes focusing on different methods of achieving high availability for MySQL database

• Analyze and learn different high availability options, including clustering and replication solutions within MySQL
• Improve uptime of your MySQL databases with simple recipes showing powerful high availability techniques for MySQL
• Tune your MySQL database for optimal performance.
• The only complete, practical, book of MySQL high availability techniques and tools on the market
• Part of Packt's Cookbook series: Each recipe is a carefully organized sequence of instructions to complete the task as efficiently as possible

In Detail

High Availability is something that all web sites hope to achieve, especially those that are linked to big companies.

MySQL, an open source relational database management system (RDBMS), can be made highly available to protect from corruption, hardware failure, software crashes, and user error. Running a MySQL setup is quite simple. Things start getting complex when you start thinking about the best way to provide redundancy. There are a large number of techniques available to add 'redundancy' and 'high availability' to MySQL, but most are both poorly understood and documented.

This book will provide you with recipes showing how to design, implement, and manage a MySQL Cluster and achieve high availability using MySQL replication, block level replication, shared storage, and the open source Global File System (GFS).

This book covers all the major techniques available for increasing availability of your MySQL databases. It demonstrates how to design, implement, troubleshoot and manage a highly available MySQL setup using any one of several techniques, which are shown in different recipes. It is based on MySQL Cluster 7.0, MySQL (for non clustered recipes) 5.0.77, and CentOS / RedHat Enterprise Linux 5.3.

The book starts by introducing MySQL Cluster as a technology and explaining how to set up a simple cluster. It will help you to master the options available for backing up and restoring a file in the MySQL Cluster. By following the practical examples in this book, you will learn how to manage the MySQL Cluster. Further, we will discuss some troubleshooting aspects of the MySQL Cluster.

We also have a look at achieving high availability for MySQL databases with the techniques of MySQL Replication, block level replication, shared storage (a SAN or NAS), and DRBD.

Finally, you will learn the principles of Performance tuning and tune MySQL database for optimal performance.

A cookbook containing recipes for all the common high availability techniques for database administrators to tackle real-world challenges to achieve high availability using MySQL

What you will learn from this book

• Configure a MySQL Cluster for scaling out MySQL
• Learn the technique of taking online backups and recovery
• Achieve high availability with MySQL Replication and various tools such as the open source Multi-Master Replication Manager (MMM) and Flipper projects
• Configure a MySQL replication design to replicate data from one MySQL database server to one or more other MySQL database servers
• Master the safety tricks of replication to prevent replication failure
• Configure a MySQL service to work using a shared storage device to achieve high availability, with and without a clustered filesystem
• Learn to use the open source Global File System (GFS) to have the same file system on more than one node
• Achieve high availability using block level replication with Distributed Replicated Block Device (DRBD)
• Improve your system's performance with the technique of performance tuning

Approach

This book uses the approach of a cookbook. Each recipe provides the reader with easy step-by-step descriptions of the actions necessary to accomplish a specific task. It is designed to present what often appear as extremely complicated techniques as a series of simple-to-follow recipes, allowing readers to achieve high uptimes on their MySQL servers.

Customer Reviews (2)

Achieving MySQL high availability through step by step
Under the CentOS distribution, a MySQL database service can be transformed into an highly available service using different approaches. High Availability MySQL Cookbook presents them:
* MySQL Cluster
* MySQL replication
* Shared storage
* Block-level replication

This book is mainly focused on the MySQL Cluster approach with four (4) entire chapters dedicated to this method. The three (3) remaining approaches are covered in dedicated single chapters while the last chapter covers performance tuning of MySQL.

The configuration examples presented in the book are rich and well explained. These examples could be used to quickly set up an highly available MySQL database from scratch. However, the inner workings of MySQL in a highly available configuration could be more detailed. The graphical representations used to illustrate the theory behind the examples are poorly designed.

Another weakness of this book is the proposed method of installation for the Multi Master Replication Manager (MMM). The author recommends the installation of source packages. While these tools are a valuable resource for a multi-master replication configuration, the use of manually installed software on a production environment should be avoided. The author should provide a way to install these tools via a set of packages specifically built for the CentOS distribution.

Nonetheless, this book is a valuable resource for a novice to intermediate level MySQL database administrator in his journey toward making its database highly available.

Good guide for novice to intermediate MySQL DBAs
MySQL is an easy database to get running initially but it can be tricky to run in demanding environments. High Availability MySQL Cookbook is a relatively thin book packed with information.

The first four chapters are on the care and feeding of a MySQL 7.x Cluster. It starts simply with an initial configuration, covers backups & replication, covers user defined partitioning, and covers troubleshooting node failures. The examples are short, to the point, and devoid of any unneeded filler.

Next come chapters on replication including the very tricky Multi Master Replication. Used shared storage is covered in a separate chapter from DRBD. The book finishes strongly with performance tuning.

The good points -- the book is concise and not padded with filler. The bad is that it is too short. Considering how well the author covers the topics that may not be too big a of a problem. For a novice to intermediate level MySQL DBA, this is a valuable guide on making your databases highly available. Long time MySQL DBAs will find nothing new but might appreciate the clear and concise explanations presented. ... Read more

Product Description

With more than 4 million active installations, MySQL is the world's most popular open-source database. Known for its speed, high reliability, and ease of use, MySQL is rapidly becoming a low-cost alternative to database systems from Oracle, IBM, and Microsoft. MySQL AB intends to agressively improve the feature set and performance of MySQL, making it more suitable for enterprise-level applications and uses. The MySQL certification tests, announced in March 2003 and available at over 3,000 Pearson VUE testing centers, is a key component of this enterprise growth strategy, establishing a base level of skills for database users, administrators, and programmers. The MySQL Core Certification is aimed at the database professional who wants proof of his or her abilities in such fundamental areas as SQL, data entry and maintenance, and data extraction. The MySQL Certification test is designed for the advanced user who wants to prove his or her knowledge in such areas as database management, installation, security, disaster prevention, and optimization. Both tests are thoroughly covered in the MySQL Certification Study Guide. Written by Paul DuBois, the leading author of books on MySQL topics, and reviewed for technical accuracy by MySQL AB, the book is the fastest, most reliable way for MySQL users to prepare for either of the MySQL tests.

Customer Reviews (9)

Not a certificate guide
It is a good book for learners but not for examination. A lot of questions cannot be found from this book. For example, select 1/0.

The questions on each chapter is useful. However you will not find any one in your examination. Except MC, some fill-in the blank questions are available. In addition, you do not allow to review all the questions due to time limit.

Thus focus your effort on
1. JOIN (how to rewrite into subqueries)
2. Email address of Mysql support.
3. No of OS is available for mysql
4. Syntax on SELECT e.g IN/ON, GROUP vs HAVING vs WHERE
5. What is transaction
6. What mysql features can use in transaction
7. implicit data conversation (e.g. INT, STRING)

A lot of questions has over 1 answers. Pay attention on it. Finally, the examination fee is too high. I think MYSQL AB needs to lower the price to promote the product if she wants to capture Microsoft market.

Thomas Leung
Hong Kong

Excellent book for MySQL Certification exams
This book is clearly written. It guides you through all the essential things you should know when preparing for the MySQL exams. The exercises at the end of each chapter are very useful in understanding what each chapter is about. These exercises give the reader a good insight to what extent he or she understands what has been dealt with in the book.
Perhaps one minor point of criticism. The many examples in the book make use of several databases and tables. It should have been convenient if the SQL-queries to make these databases were listed in the book.

Essential for the exam
This book is perfect for preparation for the MySQL Core Certification exam (I haven't taken the Professional exam - yet).If you are looking to get certified, this is the book.There were a few areas that I felt should have been covered in more detail.The one thing that bothered me (and the main reason I can't give this title 5 stars) were several topics where the text just mentions certain (relatively obscure) features, saying more information would be presented about the feature in the exercises at the end of the chapter.Of course, the exercises are the mock exam questions, and while the correct answers are all well-explained, it seems odd to mention a topic, only to say that it will be covered in the questions without preparing me with adequate information up front.

MySQL seems to consider the passing criteria as a trade secret.I could find nothing that told me what percentage I had to get right on the exam to pass.When I took the exam, I received feedback that I had passed, but no score.Of course, this makes it somewhat difficult to use the practice tests to guage your progress.If I was getting 85% correct answers on the practive test (which I was), what does that mean?I finally just bit the bullet and took the test, and it all turned out fine.But it sure would have helped my self-assessment to know where I was.

An excellent book for the core exam and beyond
I got this book because I wanted to prepare for the MySQL Core Exam.I found the book to be very useful in studying for the exam and would recommend the book to others that are attempting to pass either exam.
I also found the section of the book dealing with the Professional Exam to be very worth my reading even though I am not planning to take that exam.As a programmer I found a lot of good information on improving the performance of my queries and making the database work better.

One of the best MySQL books around
This book is not only an excellent source for prepping for the Core and Professional exams, it's also great for teaching good MySQL usage in general. This should be no surprise: Paul DuBois is the main author, and anyone even remotely in touch with MySQL know his reputation.

Now that I'm certified, I will soon be teaching courses in MySQL. I plan to use this book as course material, and I would strongly encourage other instructors to do the same.

Many authors and publishers never follow up on a book once it has been published. Not so here: In the best of Open Source tradition, the authors are extremely keen on following through on the book and have published thorough errata (in the few places it has proved necessary) for the book on the MySQL web site. This shows a commitment to their work rarely seen in other places.

Other reviewers have pointed to a lack of sample data. This is not correct. True, some data is missing but for the most part the data used is the "world" database freely available for download from the MySQL web site. This fact is admittedly somewhat hidden in the introductory pages, and easy to miss.

Some also complain that the exercises are not in the same (multiple-choice) format as you will see on the exam. At first it does look strange, but after completing my studies I fully support the authors' choice in doing what they did. You get a much better knowledge of the subject areas with the format chosen, and learn a lot more about the many inticacies of working with the software. ... Read more

Product Description

MySQL: Designing User Interfaces starts by introducing the functionality of GTK+ and how to migrate from Microsoft's Visual Basic. It then introduces MySQL as a simple, fast, reliable database for corporate applications.

The book then flows into the how-to of combining GTK+ and MySQL through the coverage of the C API for MySQL because it is the "backend" to a GTK+ application.It then expands its coverage and teaches about heterogeneous network and deployment issues, as well as migration from existing systems to MySQL. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Poor guide to database UI design
I'm not sure where all of these 5 and 4 stars are coming from. This book is absolutely horrible at addressing UI design. Half of the book is C code for GTK applications that could have been made available on a companion disk or on the website. And most of Stucky's explanation of things comes in the form of very brief comments embedded within the code. Lots of typos. Lots of butchered examples. No general GUI concepts covered. No coverage of multithreading issues. You're basically getting three non-real-world examples' code bound in a book and hardly any coverage of general user interface design concepts and ideologies. The title should have been "Beginner's Guide to Using GTK with MySQL and Glade".

a book that delivers
I've been working through this book for quite some time, and now that I've extracted all i can I have to declare myself delighted with it. The examples are good, deep enough to convey the lessons but shallow enough that not too much is irrelevant. I now have, as the author promised, several applications that will compile easily under both linux and win32. If i can fault the book at all , my only reservation is that is would have been nice to see all the necessary software included on the cd. Downloading all of the required applications and libraries (particularly for windows) led to a treasure hunt accross the web. That aside I would recommend this book to anyone who is not new to programming and databases, a little prior knowledge will be required as this is definately not a complete beginners book.

Interesting Discussion
Mathew Stucky has written an interesting book on building Graphical User Interfaces that interface to the MySQL database. As such, it is a nice follow-on to MySQL by Paul Dubois. This book seems to be primarily aimed at VB developers (or similar GUI development frameworks) who wish to build GUI applications using MySQL as the backend. While MySQL runs on a wide range of different platforms, being an open-source product, it is extremely popular on Linux.

The book tackles many different user interface projects in a consistent manner, starting with a problem definition, followed by designs of the UI and database, and concluding with an analysis of the application.The main complaint I had with the book is that it really discusses only one approach to building user interfaces to MySQL, completely ignoring the web interface, which could be built with PHP, JSPs, or even applets. Thus the title is somewhat misleading. Finally, the reader does need a fairly hefty background before starting this book.

Great - but don't let the title fool you
Let me say this right away: This is a good book. If you already know your way around MySQL and have at least a basic knowledge of C, you'll very quickly get up to speed in creating a MySQL GUI (GTK+) application for your co-workers or your client.
The introduction lays out some of the foundations, and the reader is warned that some skills are required before delving deeper into the book: Basic knowledge of C, SQL, Linux are all required to gain anything from this book. Some experience in VB, Delphi or other form-based IDEs will also give you a good start on the book.
The first section of the book gives a good run-down on MySQL, GTK+ and Glade. There are a few non-critical errors in the text (stating that a MySQL table is limited to 50 mio. records; claiming that Qt is not free, although the Qt/X11 is released under the GPL). The chapters on GTK+ also give the reader the first taste of the author's preference on using page upon page of commented source, rather than explanatory body text.
The second section is a walk-through of three Real-world implementations. The first is a relatively simple order entry application; the second a commissions calculation application and the third a fairly complex report generator. In all three examples, the focus is primarily on Glade and GTK+, and very little mention is made of MySQL.
The third section is a short discussion on using the XML files generated by Glade, which may -- in some very specific cases - allow the programmer to make changes to an application without recompiling a project. This discussion really is too short, and I wonder whether the reader might be confused more than helped by this chapter. These pages could have been of much better use if the author had spent some more time discussing security issues in MySQL and applications, something which this books sorely lacks. There is some discussion on the subject, but it's much too short and general.
One thing I really like about the examples is the "running commentary" on how to distribute programs, moving from a simple "copy the executable" over "make install" and ending up at "building an RPM".
I like examples, and a good tutorial should contain a lot of them. Some of the code examples in the book are very good -- those where a small section of a program is shown, and each important line of code is emphasized and explained. In this book, the author has chosen to give us page up and page down of program listings, which, although well commented in-line, make for extreme terse reading. More than half the book is comprised of program listings, and that's not counting the last 150+ pages making up the appendix, consisting solely of program listings. I have serious doubts that anyone will ever be reading these.
The title of the book is, unfortunately, very badly chosen. "MySQL" suggests that you can only use this book with the MySQL DBMS, even though many of the SQL examples are really quite general in scope; "Building User Interfaces" suggests that this book contains a general discussion on UI, while it is in fact very heavily centered on GTK+. The layout of the front page also suggests that the main focus on the book is MySQL, which is not true -- only about 25% of the contents are set off for discussing MySQL, the rest of the book is about Glade and GTK.
If you're coming from a Windows/MS-Access background and wish to know more about writing GUI applications for MySQL, program deployment, this book is definitely for you. If you've never worked with MySQL (or any other SQL database), you should get some more experience before getting this book.
I'm giving five stars for the contents minus one for a misleading title page.

Written for both Linux and Windows developers
Matthew Stucky's MySQL: Building User Interfaces is a 656 page companion volume to Paul DuBois' MySQL, written for both Linux and Windows developers and designed to teach the reader how to implement and handle the transition issues in moving to the MySQL database by presenting valuable insight from his experience with different companies. MySQL: Building User Interfaces starts by introducing the functionality of GTK+ and how to migrate from Microsoft's Visual Basic. It then introduces MySQL as a simple, fast, reliable database for corporate applications. It then transitions into the how-to of combining GTK+ and MySQL through the coverage of the C API for MySQL because it is the "backend" to a GTK+ application. A very highly recommended instructional reference MySQL: Building User Interfaces also covers heterogeneous network and deployment issues, as well as migration from existing systems to MySQL. ... Read more

Product Description
Learn The Basics Of PHP & MySQL Programming Without A Brain Overload!

...”I Hate PHP” is for webmasters and designers who have always wondered what PHP could do for them; someone who wants to “do” some PHP and not outsource it. It is best to be familiar with HTML and writing / deciphering HTML code. You don’t need to be a top-notch “I do it all in Notepad” kinda person - just being able to open up a text editor and understand the code is enough. Copy / Paste knowledge is helpful too.

Unlike other PHP books on the market, we are not going to attempt to cover every single facet of the Wide World Of PHP Language. No, we want to grasp the basics of the language, get familiar with it, and get some real-life examples...not have the whole thing shoved down our throat!

You’ll find that throughout this book, my odd sense of humor may shine through a little bit. You might not find that web programming is the most exciting thing on the planet. Well, I don’t either, so I tried to make it interesting and easy to read. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Does the Job!
I'm getting into WordPress and wanted a better understanding of PHP and this book does the trick, giving me enough to understand how PHP works. Mind you, I'm a programmer by trade, so I already know what an IF statement does! ;-) Given that, I found this eGuide very easy to follow.

For three bucks (Kindle version), how can you go wrong? ... Read more

Product Description
MySQL is the most popular SQL database in the open source community and is used almost universally by web sites running on open source systems. As powerful and flexible as it is lightweight and efficient, MySQL packs a large feature set into a very small and fast engine that now runs on more than 500,000 servers. This highly regarded and comprehensive reference manual comes directly from the members of the MySQL team and is now available in paperback format. It is an exact reproduction of the MySQL Reference Manual from the MySQL development team's web site. The book covers issues at all stages in MySQL use, from installation problems through performance tuning. Included are suggested uses of privileges to enhance security, many performance tips, and a sophisticated guide to error recovery. It also offers a thorough comparison of MySQL with SQL standards and other databases, and covers MySQL 4.0. No serious MySQL user should be without this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Good if you want to know how mysql works
If you want to know how to work with or how mysql works, this book is really great. If you want general set up and usage I think you are looking at the wrong one.

MySQL Reference
This is simply the printed version of the online documentation. This is very handy to have when you are not in front of your keyboard.I use the printed and online versions equally.The layout of the printed version is not the best by any means. Used in conjunction with the online documentation, you will find what you need though.This book should be on any PHP/MySQL programmer's shelf.

As stated earlier, complete but poorly organised...
This book is the printed version of the online documentation available through the MySQL site.It is the definitive version of documentation for MySQL, but it is also left wanting.The authors, two of the principle programmers of MySQL, provide comprehensive coverage of all aspects of MySQL.
That being said, one of the biggest problem with this book is not its subject coverage, but its organization.Most technical books begin with installation instructions, or a brief overview of the software's purpose and the need it addresses and then moves into technical subjects.This one spends the first 10% telling you why you should use MySQL, and only then does it start delving into technical matters.
Skipping past that, the book's other big shortcoming is that it's biased towards a Unix mindset.Granted, the software was developed on Unix and the largest portion of deployments are on *nix.However, as a long-time Windows user with little *nix familiarity, a lot of the material is over my head.If they want Windows users to use MySQL correctly, they're going to have to make it much easier for Windows users/admins to understand.
The one thing I found the book does really well is to teach you exactly how to use MySQL using SQL, and documenting well where MySQL diverges from ANSI SQL compliance.The portion of the book strictly dedicated to teaching the user how to use it is well-written and thorough, I wish the rest of the manual was written this well.

Complete, but poorly organized
A paper copy of the manual can be most useful, since I, like most people, find it hard to wade through an online manual.

But there is one area in which the online form is more useful: searching. By opening the MySQL manual in a text editor, one can search it, making the poor organization of the manual less of a problem.

The printed copy suffers from the same poor organization (indeed, it is the same as - or very, very close to - the online manual) but without the ameliorating factor of searchability. The index is not very good, but even if it was better, the scattering of information throughout the book would make for lengthy index entries.

Take security for example. What is the recommended process for securing a fresh MySQL installation? Start at the Table of Contents: Aha! 4.3 "MySQL User Account Management" Sounds promising. P. 249. GRANT and REVOKE Syntax? Not what I had in mind. I just want to know about the right way to secure the system and create new users. Back to the Contents. 2.4 "Post-Installation Setup and Testing" P.113. Nope, nothing there.

Last resort: The index. Security, against hackers, p.227. Nope. But that page is in section 4.2 "General Security Issues and the MySQL Access Privilege System." Now that sounds like it. Start reading section 4.2.1 on p. 224... "If you are able to connect successfully to the server without being asked for a password, you have problems! ... Review the MySQL installation instructions..." I thought I just did that. Now I know the secret is burried in the installation instructions. Back to Chapter 2. Still no dice.

Give up and install phpMyAdmin.

While I don't doubt that the answers to this and a myriad other questions are in there somewhere, the poor structure of the book makes it extremely hard to find anything.

A complete rewrite would do the trick.

Good things worth waiting for
It's been a long wait, but finally a comprehensive MySQL Reference manual has arrived !Definitive comprehensive and one might even say exhaustive - you'll want to keep this one handy. ... Read more

Product Description
* This comprehensive tutorial and reference covers all the basics of PHP 5, a popular open source Web scripting language, and MySQL 4.012, the most popular open source database engine
* Explores why users need PHP and MySQL, how to get started, how to add PHP to HTML, and how to connect HTML Web pages to MySQL
* Offers an extensive tutorial for developing applications with PHP and MySQL
* Includes coverage of how to install, administer, and design MySQL databases independently of PHP; exception and error handling; debugging techniques; PostgreSQL database system; and PEAR database functions
* The authors provide unique case studies of how and where to use PHP drawn from their own extensive Web experience ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Great deal
The book was in great shape and great price!Thanks for a great experience.

Frustrating
This book is full of faulty grammar - spelling and style -but no matter how annoying, you'll find out that's not the worst that can happenwhen trying to learn PHP from a book. Far worse is that even some of the most basic, three lined examples of code contain fatal errors.

Unfortunately, most examples of code are unnecessary long and complicated and seem to be chosen randomly. I agree with other reviewers that the first few chapters about the history and variables are OK but from then on it gets really hairy.

I can't believe this book still gets 3 out of 5 stars. I would never buy this book again, or recommend it to others. In fact, I'm on Amazon to order a different book on learning PHP. I have bought other books from this 'bible' series in the past but after this one I will think twice before picking up another 'Wiley bible'.

Great Book
The book was exactly as described. Is in great condition and saved me a bunch of money instead of buying it through my campus bookstore. Delivery was fast. Will order from them again.

Help - I'm in Purgatory reading this Bible
This book doesn't give the nuts and bolts.There are no real examples, it's all a bit esoteric for me.I have web experience and database experience, but this book hasn't put it together.

I should have bought a "For Dummies" book.

Worth every penny
Most of the Bible series of books are worth the money you pay for them, and this one is no exception.

Good informative book, great for the beginner and a good read for the advanced.

Not good for reference, but then it isn't supposed to be.
... Read more

Product Description
Databases are now an integral part of the internet and many web sites use databases in the background to control their content. MySQL is one of the most commonly used open source database management systems. Due to it's bundling with PHP, MySQL has proved a popular choice for many sites as it enables a database driven, content managed website to be set up with little or no software costs. This book will show you how to design and use databases for the web using MySQL as a tool to learn SQL. Key Topics Installing and testing MySQL SQL basics, and using SQL to communicate with databases Database design techniques and concepts Using MySQL with PHP, Apache and Perl How to make other products communicate with MySQL Features and Benefits. Gives an insight into how databases work in relation to the web. Introduces general SQL techniques by means of MySQL. Explains the concepts behind a structured query language and how it can be used to communicate with databases. Provides an introduction to database design and how an efficiently designed database can improve the performance of MySQL. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Dumbed down version of MySQL documentation.
I bought this book with the hope to get deep insights into the workings of MySQL on windows platform, including issues like perfromance tuning on windows platform etc. But the book was a big disappointment. It is a dumbed down version of the MySQL documentation, for users who don't have any prior database experience. If you have already worked with database and want to learn about MySQL, you are better off reading the free online docmentation. ... Read more

Product Description

With more than 4 million active installations, MySQL is the world's most popular open-source database.

Known for its speed, high reliability, and ease of use, MySQL is rapidly becoming a low-cost alternative to high-priced, high-maintenance database systems from Oracle, IMB and Microsoft-and it already has more users than any of these more established proprietary databases.

The MySQL Language Reference is the only official guide to the MySQL language and programming APIs.

Written by the creators of MySQL, and edited by the highly respected MySQL authors, the MySQL Language Reference is designed for database administrators and programmers who need a reliable, detailed reference to every part of the MySQL language and all the available APIs.

Customer Reviews (3)

Good Book, Most Available Online
This is a great reference book, but note that practically all of this info is available online.That being said, when I develop I like to have the written book handy.It's a well organized and well bound softcover.

Printing Web Pages
If you are seriously considering purchasing this book, you should be aware that aside from some typical publisher's mumbo jumbo up front, this is a hardcopy format of the online MySQL Documentation already available via the web. The language of THAT work has always been a little tortured; but once you spend some time with it, it does get the point across.

I don't want to imply this book is without value - it isn't. If nothing else, the covenience of having it in this format is worth something - I'm just not sure $40 is the right number.

All You Need - What More Can I Say.
I first looked at using MySql in a web application back around 2001 or 2. Using it would have required a port of the SQL statements. And I decided not to use it. The application I was porting had lots of statements that used SubQueries, and MySql didn't support these. Yes, I could have re-written all the statements using joins and other methods, but what a lot of work.

As a result, when I was first flipping through this book I found a section - Subquery Syntax. In that section, the first example showed a nested SELECT statement that had four cascaded subqueries. So I sat down in the bookstore and started reading this section. Subqueries took a dozen pages to describe, and included enough information that I found myself learning a lot about subqueries that I didn't know. (I'd point these things out, but then you'd just think I was pretty dumb.)

Then I looked for a few other things that I've had trouble finding with other DB books: Reserved Words (go try to find the reserved words in Access for instance) they are the last couple of pages in Chapter 2. Replication - it's there. Everything I looked for was there.

Let's net this out. This book is $40 (that's list price, but you know better than that). The software is ZIP - just go to www.mysql.com, click on developer and download the version you want (Linux in a bunch of versions, Windows, and several versions of Unix). The price is still ZIP. You want to upgrade to the next version, yup, cost is ZIP. Less than $40 is your total investment. ... Read more

Product Description
This new release in the popular How to Do Everything series explains how to build open source web applications with MySQL and PHP 5. Using these two tools, you’ll be able to create highly functional, interactive web sites easily. Follow along with a step-by-step sample application and, as a bonus, download three full-length case studies complete with code trees. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Best book for Beginners to PHP & MySQL (but only for Advanced Programmers)
Ok, at first I was shocked at the low scores/bad reviews for this book - as I consider it to be absolutely golden.

The problem lies here: This is (I should mention I own lots of PHP & MySQL books) the best book you could possibly purchase if you know nothing about PHP or MySQL ..... IF you are already a programmer. (If you are coming from other languages like C, C++ or even scripting languages like Perl [ugh!], Python, etc.)

What I see is total programmings newbies tackling this (nothing wrong with that - we were all newbies once) - and this book seems to be too unforgiving if you are not already familiar with alot of programming concepts.

I should mention though, if you are already familiar with PHP and MySQL, this book can only serve as a poor reference book. There are better ones (one of which I mention all the time is Meloni's Sams Teach Yourself PHP, MySQL and Apache All in One (4th Edition). I have no idea if the 4th edition (i own the 2nd) is as good as my edition, but it most certainly would be better than this book. )

I really like this book, but I only use it for reference when I don't have one of my other books closer.

So, in conclusion, buy this book if you need to learn PHP & MySQL if you are already an experience programmer. Otherwise, it won't really be very valuable to you.

Now I'dlike to learn php and mysql
I found myself looking elsewhere for the information I needed to understand just about everything in this book. I bought this book a couple of years ago and gave up on it, then came back to it recently as I needed to learn some of the information. It is very difficult to glean a thorough understanding of the subject matter from this book. BTW, it is not well-structured. I would have moved all of the mysql content to the front, with a thorogh explanation of those commands, and maybe adding a brief html overview, then explain the php. This guy makes a lot of references to stuff he hasn't explained yet.

Great Reference Book
So far, the book has been very helpful although I would have liked to have seen more screen shots showing the results of the code. My first impression is that the book could have been better laid out, but otherwise it's a great reference book.

Extremely user unfriendly
I was assigned this book for a class on CMS development. It was a poor choice on the professor's part because it is not accessible to the novice, unless that person is unusually curious about the abstract logic of the language itself.

The great flaw in Vaswani's concept is that the PHP is explained only in terms of its own architecture - not divided into applications or tasks. Go down the Table of Contents for the PHP section and you see no "how to's" - only variables, operators, loops, etc. And after you learn a piece of PHP (if you do) you're given next to no applications for the code you're learning.

At least the book was distributed free of charge as a PDF thru my department. It cost about what it was worth, plus a considerable toll in frustration.

Great Book
Great book.It really got me started when I first had started my trek on learning PHP.It goes more in depth than other books I had read before.The only thing I would recommend is a better chapter on error coding and security.Over all I recommend this book.

Okay, I am back about a year or so later after leaving my original review (see paragraph above).This is still a great book.I have used it so much that the binding has broken and I have a hard time keeping the pages together.I have sticky notes all in it and actually use it in my office to refer to MySQL dates and other little things.Great, great book.If you really want to get your feet wet with PHP and MySQL, please don't pass this book up. ... Read more

Product Description
This is THE book for webmasters, developers, and IT departments looking to create sophisticated Internet applications with open-source technologies. Setting Up Lamp teaches you how to develop a complete web server solution from the ground up. You'll learn how to install, configure, use, and integrate all four LAMP components--Linux operating system, Apache web server, MySQL database manager, and PHP programming language. And, you'll discover how to get support from open-source web sites and communities. Focusing on fundamental concepts of the technologies, this book is not version specific. In fact, it addresses how to use future updates of LAMP technologies to extend its shelf life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Good general overview
This book is very good in teaching the basic of LAMP system, and it's useful to read before to learn deeply each separate single topics.

setting up lamp
At the moment, don't buy this book. The reason: what is otherwise an excellent book cannot be followed, because the essential steps it takes you through require resources that are not available - ie. the web resources no longer exist. Time is money, and after spending another long day yesterday, running into one dead end after another, one failed work around after another, this book has cost me lots, and I've not achieved anywhere near Setting Up Lamp. The authors/publisher could correct this easily enough, by providing the info on their website. If these issues are corrected, the bookis likely to rate differently. Until that time, invest elsewhere.

Good information but outdated
This book was probably great a couple of years ago. It has great step-by-step instructions, and it walks you through things in a very detailed manner.

However, since the versions of all software (and the OS) used in the book have been updated at least a few times since 2004, I ran into several issues. Maybe 10% of all the links are accurate (which you need to install the .rpm files in the way the book tells you to), and when you do find the updated versions of everything, some of the commands the book gives you produce errors. Since the instructions probably worked correctly in 2004, there is no information on what those errors mean or how to fix them.

In short, I'm setting this book aside to find something more recent, and reloading the system I was using to test this with. If you do not have prior experience and a good understanding of how all of these programs work and how to troubleshoot their errors, I would recommend finding a more up-to-date book.

Not what was expected.
I am very unsatisfied with this book. It only gives instructions on how to setup a lamp using one distro only. And it was geared only to well experienced users. The book was incomprehensible to me.

Not a beginner book
This book is listed as a beginner to intermediate book, but I would rate it as intermediate at the very least. The author has a fetish for unnecessarily elaborate terminology that overcomplicates straightforward operational activities (to exemplify my point). Otherwise, it is a good overview of the four technologies and how they work together to provide a seamless web presence. ... Read more

Product Description

Sams Teach Yourself MySQL in 24 Hours teaches the reader everything from basic installation to using MySQL in Web application development.

First, the basic concepts of database design are taught, and then the reader jumps right into planning and creating a database.The book then walks the reader through all the basics of using MySQL - working with tables and data, using MySQL's query functions, using transactions, and database administration - before the reader finally learns to put everything together to properly create the foundation database for a Web-based application.

Customer Reviews (14)

A solid introduction.
I'd like to counter some of the negative reviews of this book because a) many seem to miss the point of the book, and b) because I've found it to be quite useful. I'm not exactly the target audience, as I had some previous experience with an earlier version of MySQL. However, I managed to forget a whole lot and wanted a refresher course. Usually, when I see a book claiming to do anything in "24 hours", I'm pretty skeptical, but in this case, 24 hours is actually pretty conservative. Regardless of experience, I'm sure most readers will fly through the first eight or nine hours (or chapters) much faster.

Lets address some of the criticisms: First, this is clearly an introductory book as the title suggest. Any expectation that this is somehow a reference book will be disappointed. This is not exhaustive, nor is it comprehensive. When first approaching something new, I don't appreciate being inundated with more detail than I can digest. I'd rather get up and running quickly before discovering the details.

I believe the criticism that the book assumes you have MySQL installed and configured already is valid. The book does help you get installed, but it's conveniently not included in the "24 hours" portion of the book. In my experience, the installation and configuration is not straightforward at all and that WILL add time to your learning process.

Overall, I feel that the book has enough information to be useful, but not so much that it overwhelms the beginner. I haven't read every introductory book on this topic, but I don't really feel like I need to because Meloni's book was entirely sufficient. Perhaps there's something better out there, but since I worked through this book quickly and with great success, I'd say it's just fine. Meloni's writing style is simple and concise.

The one recommendation that I might make would be to purchase Meloni's "Teach Yourself PHP, MySQL, and Apache" instead. You don't get quite as much detail on MySQL itself, but you learn basically the same content, plus integration with PHP, which is what most people want to do anyway. Overall, I can safely recommend either book.

Yeah, right!
I find this to be a low level of professionalism from this author: "First, I don't mind negative reviews; this is my 4th book".
To post a positive review to off set the candid reviews from others, I find that to be very amateurish.
I have written the author in the past as she suggests only getting some nasty response back from her.
If you want a great book on MySQL go with the MySQL TutorialBy Laura Thomson, Luke Welling.
The book is written very well and has a 4.5 star rating with no pump from the authors.

Great for Beginners!
This book includes a wealth of information for the beginner using mySQL. I sped through the chapters, have the database from the examples installed and I'm using for a contact management system. It's great. Now to branch out and create my own database for my book collection. Thanks Julie for a book that readies the beginner for using mySQL.

Regret to purchase this book
I got this book long time ago and never had a chance to read it. I recently got some time and want to learn how to use it, and I still have no idea how mysql work after reading for a few chapters. I end up reading the manual of mysql and found some other helpful tutorials online. If you are a beginner, this book does not provide any help.

Disappointed....
I had to learn SQL quickly, given ~ 1 weeks time.
The book makes many references to using MySQL (cause its free), yet 1/2 of the examples and exercises do not work on MySQL, due to syntax issues between MySQL and the other, "favored" DB's used in the examples.
Also, it makes the assumption that you've installed MySQL and have it up-and-running, and yet I lost ~10hours fighting with logon credebtials once my MySQL was loaded on my Lunux box...what a hassle!
I guess if you use Oracle or SQL 2000...you'd have an easier time of it..... ... Read more

Product Description
99 great recipes for mastering MySQL configuration and administration

• Set up MySQL to perform administrative tasks such as efficiently managing data and database schema, improving the performance of MySQL servers, and managing user credentials
• Deal with typical performance bottlenecks and lock-contention problems
• Restrict access sensibly and regain access to your database in case of loss of administrative user credentials
• Part of Packt's Cookbook series: Each recipe is a carefully organized sequence of instructions to complete the task as efficiently as possible

In Detail

MySQL is the most popular open-source database and is also known for its easy set up feature. However, proper configuration beyond the default settings still is a challenge, along with some other day-to-day maintenance tasks such as backing up and restoring, performance tuning, and server monitoring. These tasks have not been covered thoroughly in the default documentation.

This book provides both step-by-step recipes and relevant background information on these topics and more. It covers everything from basic to advanced aspects of MySQL administration and configuration. One of the things you are really going to love about this book is that all recipes are based on real-world experience and were derived from proven solutions used in an enterprise environment.

This book shows you everything you need to know about MySQL Administration. You will learn to set up MySQL replication to manage load balancing and deal with online backup and fail-over scenarios. As you consider the benefits of backing up, you might like to back up your database efficiently with advanced techniques covered in this book.

The book demonstrates how to create, modify, and delete indexes. You will also learn to identify duplicate indexes, which hinder your MySQL server performance. This book focuses on administration tasks and will help you as an administrator to optimize the database for efficiency and reliability.

You will learn to manage data efficiently by inserting data in existing database content and importing and exporting databases. The sooner you learn about taking advantage of metadata from this book, the sooner you can start using the space efficiently. Get to know about managing users and assigning privileges and regaining lost administrative user credentials. Finally, learn to manage the database schema by customizing it to automate database schema evolution in the context of application updates.

What you will learn from this book

• Set up MySQL replication to manage load balancing, online back up, and fail-over scenarios
• Create, modify, and delete indexes; also identify duplicate indexes to optimize your MySQL servers' performance
• Leverage the power of MySQL Administrator, Query Browser GUI Tools, and the MySQL command line client
• Back up your database and restore the data efficiently and reliably with advanced techniques such as on-the-fly compression, point-in-time recovery, avoiding extended lock situations, backup in replication scenarios, and partial backup and restore.
• Manage data by deleting data in a highly efficient manner, inserting data based on existing database content, and importing and exporting data in a customizable manner
• Monitor table space usage and use database metadata to your advantage
• Deal with typical performance bottlenecks and lock-contention problems
• Configure MySQL and leverage available settings to their full potential
• Manage MySQL user accounts and assign appropriate privileges
• Restrict access sensibly and regain access to your database in case of loss of administrative user credentials
• Manage the schema by adding and removing columns from tables, choosing a suitable storage engine and character set for individual needs
• Add a new primary key column to a table already filled with data and also manage and automate database schema evolution in the context of application updates

Approach

This book uses the approach of a cookbook, presenting solutions to problems in the form of recipes. Each recipe provides the reader with easy step-by-step descriptions of the actions necessary to accomplish a specific task. Example values and code samples are used throughout the recipes, which makes adaptation for individual needs easy

Administrators of all skill-levels will find step-by-step instructions for practical approaches to MySQL configuration, maintenance, and optimization topics. Each recipe uses a concrete example for easy understanding.

Who this book is written for

This book is for ambitious MySQL users as well as professional data center database administrators. Beginners as well as experienced administrators will profit from this cookbook and get fresh ideas to improve their MySQL environments. Detailed background information will enable them to widen their MySQL horizon.

It does not cover SQL basics, how to install MySQL servers, or how to design a relational database schema. Readers are expected to have a basic understanding of the SQL language and database concepts in general. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Easy and understanding
This book declares the conventions and usages of MySQL and the administration of such databases in a straight forward and explainatory way. Might be a bit too technical for a newbie.! But I believe these users to never consider any questions that's covered in this book.. Made my day!

Different than what I expected
I use PHP and HTML in my day to day work and I have dabbled in MySQL.However, I have not done much beyond the basic PHPMyAdmin and MySQL database design.So I was intrigued by a more thorough look into the technology that is used to power the data driven sites that I create. As I began to read this book, I have to admit that I was quickly overwhelmed by the depth of what was being covered.It is way beyond what my current level will allow me to understand.But, that really isn't the book's problem, it is my own lack of knowledge and experience!

I can see this book being a tremendous asset as I continue to learn how to manage large-scale MySQL installs.Having a collection of "recipes" for many different issues and situations is a great benefit.

This is a very targeted, focused book and it is also a great resource for the individual that occasionally finds himself working on a MySQL database.The techniques and tools are there, but it is not for the faint of heart!

Some missing recipes
This book is a great first attempt at a book that has been needed for a long time. It covers the everyday practical parts of managing a MySQL server.

I have been hungry for this book for a long time. Most books about MySQL focus on the SQL language and give you long chapters on how to form complex queries. Or,they dive deep into MySQL commands command and the use of my.cnf.I have a bookshelf full of these books. None have given me help making backups on-the-fly without interrupting customer services or preventing mysqldump from failing with error 2013. This book, "MySQL Admin Cookbook", covers everyday issues database administrators (DBA) face.

I'm calling it a "first attempt" because you'll get a taste of the practical side but the authors don't give you all the tools. It covers transferring connections settings between different machines with a network share. Good. It doesn't talk enough about the tools every MySQL DBA know, like MaatKit, openarkkit, mycheckpoint, mysqltuner and so many more.

Another example, Chapter 5 covers the common details for loading large data sets using the LOAD DATA INFILE command. Common. But it doesn't talk about how you can replace a CSV or MyIsam files directly with tools like mysql-replace-tables-live.

If you are NOT a DBA and MySQL is something you're using, I FULLY recommend this book.If you are a DBA, unless your new, you will find most of this book covers things you have already learned on your own.

This book starts like a very good HOWTO with replication in chapter one without mentioning
the monitoring tool mk-heartbeat. By chapter six it get cooking with good tips on analyzing, monitoring and configuring your MySQL and then simmers to an ending with managing users and schemas.

I look forward to Rev2 of this book when it really gets cooking.

99 GREAT recipes? No.Everyday foods is more what it is.

A good place for Novices and Intermediates to start
Usually I try to avoid the cookbook type of computer books because usually the 'recipies', often messy scripts or pages of obfuscated code, seem only to work for the authors and not for me. So I had a little trepidation when I was asked to review the MySQL Admin Cookbook. Daniel Schneller and Udo Schwedt manage to pack a lot of very solid information into 360 pages of text that would work for novice to intermediate MySQL DBAs and provide some food for thought for seasoned DBAs.
What I liked: The material was presented with the reasons behind the recipe and pointers to useful tools. Yes, all the material is in the manuals but sometimes there are too many trees in the way for a novice so see the trees. In very calm ,concise language, the authors tackle successfully a wide range of DBA chores in a way that is easy to follow.

I would not hesitate to give this book to a novice to intermediate DBA as a tool to help them work through replication, configuration, indexes and tools.

What I did not like: Time has marched on and the references to MySQL Administrator make a few tiny sections seem dated but I am sure only the Workbench team knew what that product would evolve into. Also the section on monitoring is a bit light but then most DBAs do not need to wade in as deeply as the book goes let alone into Enterprise Monitor or other tools.

So this book is a solid four out of five stars and well worth being brought home by those new to MySQL DBA work and those seeking 'recipes' for thier instances. ... Read more

Product Description
Well, I don’t REALLY hate PHP, but there have been days I strongly dislike it. Thank you for purchasing this guide to PHP and MySQL. I hope you get some enjoyment out of it, and learn a few things!

First of all, my background and why this book came to be...

Most PHP/MySQL books on the market that I have read were not written for the novice. To be honest, even I struggled with “PHP For Dummies”, although I’ve been working with HTML and another programming environment, ColdFusion, for years. So, WHY was PHP so hard for me? I think it was a number of things, but most of all because with HTML and ColdFusion experience, I was used to a TAG based language. For everything there was a tag, like this:



...which is a ColdFusion tag to output processed information. PHP is not based on tags like that. No, PHP more resembles a (ugh) Programming Language. If you are intimidated by that, never fear - I’m going to do my best to explain the examples in plain english!

So, who is this book for?

This book is for the lonely people who can’t get a da...hold on...wrong book...”I Hate PHP” is for webmasters and designers who have always wondered what PHP could do for them; someone who wants to “do” some PHP and not outsource it. It is best to be familiar with HTML and writing / deciphering HTML code. You don’t need to be a top-notch “I do it all in Notepad” kinda person - just being able to open up a text editor and understand the code is enough. Copy / Paste knowledge is helpful too.

Unlike other PHP books on the market, we are not going to attempt to cover every single facet of the Wide World Of PHP Language. No, we want to grasp the basics of the language, get familiar with it, and get some real-life examples...not have the whole thing shoved down our throat!

You’ll find that throughout this book, my odd sense of humor may shine through a little bit. You might not find that web programming is the most exciting thing on the planet. Well, I don’t either, so I tried to make it interesting and easy to read. ... Read more

Product Description
Web Application Design and Implementation uses a hands-on approach of the major technologies and programming languages to teach readers web development. Providing an understanding of all major aspects of web programming in order to achieve the construction of a database-driven website, the book features state-of-the-art programming languages such as HTML, JavaScript, MySQL, PHP, Apache, Linux/Unix. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Wonderful Book
I go to Stevens Institute of Technology and recently took Web Programming, which is taught by Gabarro himself. I had the honor of reading this book and it has helped me go from (essentially) no web programming experience to being able to make a fully featured database driven website. Recommended to anyone who is looking to get into Web Programming whether it be casually or hardcore.

Learning PHP/Mysql
I have some basic knowledge of PHP/Mysql since I am a Telecom Eng. and not a programmer. I looked into many books regarding that subject and for me this one is the best one. It goes not only through the PHP and Mysql theory but more describes you how to download and install what you need to just get in and play for fun.

Little comments from the author...
Hi guys, first of all, thanks for actually considering buying this book. I do appreciate all reviews, whether they are good or bad, as this is the very first book I wrote. I do have to say in response to T.Arora that I did spend a lot of time writing this book (took me over a year), and the reason I did not include more images was a contractual restrictions. I was told to write a book of about 300 pages, and adding images would have made me go way over board. I felt it was more important to concentrate on explanations and the actual code. After that, you could always write the code and see what it looks like.

I do hope you read it till the end. I've heard good things about the last chapter, when everything gets together. Hopefully you will like my examples a little better. :)

For those thinking on whether or not to buy the book, realize that this book is about learning how to make database-driven websites, not how to make pretty pages. If you want to learn tricks and dangers of Web programming, the book can definitely help you. If you just want to learn Web design and how to choose colors, get a different book.

Thanks to all of you that have purchased it so far! :)

Quick N Dirty Job
Have read 40% of the book so far. There are many places where visual aspects are discussed, and there are no visual illustrations!!. The book is clearly aimed at people whose knowledge is elementary in the areas being discussed, and yet there is no attempt to make it easy for the reader to learn. Also, the examples are unimaginative.

On the bright side, I like the casual conversational style.

I Wish I'd Had This Book When I Started Web Programming
This is the book I wish I had had when I was starting to set up my Books-On-Line web site. Here in one simple step is just about half of what you need to know to set up a fairly complex database driven web site. I say about half of what you need to know because he spends no time at all on appearance, type fonts, color, illustrations, all that stuff. As he says in the introduction, he's not good at that (neither am I), and for those subjects you need another book.

But for a functioning web site he recommends what is sometimes called LAMP - for Linux, Apache, MySql and PHP. To summarize why:

The software is FREE, a very good price.
It doesn't crash as often
It runs faster so you can use a slower computer.

By the time you finish, you'll probably want at least one book on each of these software packages, but here is an excellent place to start. It gives you enough to get started and you only need to go deeper into each of these packages when you start getting fancier. The nice thing about this book is that it gives you everything you need to get started in a well written, easy to understand way.

Mr. Gabarro, there are two things I would suggest for your next edition: One, include a cd of a working collection of the four packages rather than saying go get any distribution, and two, talk a little about past and emerging technologies such as Cold Fusion for the past, and Ruby on Rails for the future. I'd be interested in your opinions. ... Read more

Product Description

MySQL is the most widely installed open-source database.Approximately 3.5 million MySQL servers are in use and more than 45% of databases used on Linux worldwide are MySQL databases.

Its latest version, MySQL 4.1 closes the gap between MySQL and other, more sophisticated databases.Version 4.1 permits the use of MySQL as an embedded database, which means it can be compiled into another application and used in a range of devices.

The second edition of Sams Teach Yourself MySQL in 21 Days has been completely rewritten by a new author.The book enables a reader to create powerful databases using MySQL.He willnot only learn how to integrate MySQL into a database-driven Web site, but also how to embed MySQL into other compiled applications.

Customer Reviews (3)

Great starter book on MySql
This is the best starter book on MySql that I've read and I've read quite a few.Start with this one.

An Excellent Primer and More
The book is aimed at the beginner/intermediate level, which I think is about right. Readers at both levels would benefit significantly from this well written and easily read volume.

Each chapter gives you a `kick start' in that aspect of MySQL starting at a basic level and progressing to a stage where you have a very useful knowledge.
The chapters on Querying Data for example take you to a point where you (as an intermediate user) could do most everyday queries.

This is achieved by using straightforward examples with carefully graded and well explained steps. I never felt too pushed nor felt I was being patronised - quite an achievement.

What I particularly liked were the chapters on interfacing with the real world.
The chapter on PHP does not pretend to be a primer on PHP but does introduce the few functions in PHP which allow you to write to and query a MySQL database, retrieve the results and present them to the rest of your PHP code - just what a PHP coderneeds from a book on MySQL. This is repeated for those who need to interface with C and PERL.

I would unreservedly recommend this book to anyone starting out in MySQL.

Check examples please.
It was missing alot of information in the area of new users and granting privileges.Quotations marks were left out of key commands to grant privileges and there are limits...There were misspellings of words.The book should have gone through spellcheck and a thorough test of examples.
I would rate this book lower but I admit, it helped me get started.If I didn't have teaching and other data processing experience I would be bald trying to follow this book. ... Read more

Product Description
* Covers the entire open source Web platform known as LAMP, which includes Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP, the basis for many dynamic data-driven Web sites
* Seven convenient minibooks provide easy reference on open source and team development, working with Linux and Apache, automating Web sites with Perl, developing front-end applications with Tcl/TK, creating dynamic Web pages with PHP, accessing Web databases with MySQL, and processing Web files with regular expressions
* Includes valuable, hard-to-find coverage of collaboration, file sharing, and version control with CVS
* PHP is running on over nine million sites, with an average increase of 6.5 percent monthly over the past two years; Apache Web servers handle seventy percent of Web content ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Useful but a book that can make you frustrated
I consider myself as pretty much a patient problem solver when I actually encounter problems. But as I begin to use this book as a reference book to build my first website based on MySQL, PHP, and many other languages, I found myself getting seriously annoyed at the fact that this book offered me.

That is not meant to say this book is a horrible book. First of all, as this book is published as "For Dummies series", the author "is obliged" to write as you do not much about anything, though the author himself most likely did not incline toward the obligation. And, as it is written on book covers, this book truly covers the seven topics in one, and each of the topics is explained in detail and in plain language to make you easy to understand.

But despite of these positive sides, it is unfortunate that this book seriously needs revision. To remind you, this book is a book targetting toward beginners. At the same time, however, this book is also a book targetting toward those who are actually intending to use PHP and other applications mentioned here to build a website. But before I mention what are the problems with the book, I want to let you know something about PHP. Those who already know or do not bother to know about it, just skip over to 2nd paragraph following this.

For those who do not know, PHP is a language that can easily frustrate you if you make a single, minimal mistake such as: replacing a single quote as a double quote, absence/addition of a a blank line or a space, etc. To make things worse, when you run the PHP page with errors in web, it will give you errors that is not only unpleasant but almost entirely useless. I first used Notepad to write/edit the scripts, but lated I had to rely on Dreamweaver to make edits less frustrating -- but with no significant improvement. And for those who do not have these expensive IDE softwares, you will probably spend hours to see what have done wrong in your script.

Now, continuing with the problem with the book... The author makes a serious mistake by leaving incorrectly written scripts onseveral portions of his book. For example, these is this PHP script written on Chapter VI, Chapter 7, "Creating a Username System for Your Website", that shows you entire scripts for useraccess.php file. The file itself is about 151 lines wrong(I say "about" because the script itself really depends on how you design the script), and there are 7 other files, either html or php, that works in conjunction with this file. By running the script, I got an error message that is basically useless. I ran the program in numbers of times more again, and I later found that the problem was actually in the book: there were 19 "{" sign but only 18 "}" sign in the script! I still ran in a couple more problems again after fixing the mistake. In any case, the book makes several mistakes that can guarantee you to get frustrated unless you are already a programming gru.

In addition, while the author goes each portion pretty extensively, he somehow seems to assume that you read about previous parts of Books before you goes to next Book. What I mean by that is, for example, when he mentions about objects in PHP, he actually wants you to go back and read the parts in Perl to make you understand it. I do not think that is not really a good approach for beginners who will read this book because some users simply do not want to spend extra time to read over another booksmentioning about Perl or Apache when they just wants to learn PHP. And often, I strongly felt that there needs to be more explanations regarding each issue, and I visited his website to see whether there is maybe a forum or a tutorial set up regarding the book. What I only found from his websites is articles regarding another computer language C, download search that is basically useless for me, and, oh, some Google and other affiliate ads to make himself some money. Nice...

So, to conclude, I cannot really say that this book is a great book for beginners. Maybe, you will find that this book is not even an okay book, or maybe you will. However, what I suggest to you is that, if you buy this book from a bookstore, be sure to have a mind to learn through trials-and-errors with frustration rather than just using scripts written from the book. ... Read more

Product Description
Get comprehensive coverage of all the powerful new features of MySQL, one of the fastest--and free--relational databases in use today. Written in conjunction with the MySQL development team, this expert resource covers transactional integrity, disaster recovery, scalability, support for mobile users, Web-based and client/server programming, and much more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

great skill-builder for beginners/intermediates, lacking in discussion of advanced features, a bit out-of-date
Note: This book only covers through MySQL 4.1, so I would recommend another book if you plan on moving to MySQL 5.0 or higher (which you should).

This is a good introduction for MySQL users who have not read through a MySQL book before, and need somebody to help them work through reasonably complicated concepts in plain English. It's also a good book for people who have worked through online documentation but want to integrate the bits and pieces they've picked up from other places.

It has copious and easy-to-follow examples, and if you read it through, you will become confident using MySQL's basic and intermediate functionalities.

This book is not as good when it gets to more advanced topics. Part of that is due to the fact that it only covers MySQL through version 4.1, so many of the more advanced features in verison 5.0 like stored procedures and triggers are not covered at all (nor is the mysqli extension for PHP covered in the PHP section of the book). Also, a number of features that were available in 4.1, like transactions, are not covered in enough detail. For example, while a basic example of a transaction is given, I don't think that this book contains enough real-world examples for determining what specific transaction isolation level one would choose in a given circumstance. The discussion of isolation levels relies on theoretical graphs instead.

For a current purchaser, I'd give this 3 stars - good for a beginner or intermediate reader, not as good for an advanced reader. I would give it 4 stars but it's out of date so I wouldn't recommend it for most current purchasers.

A good and nearly complete introduction to MySQL
This book provides a good and clear overview of the subject of MySQL. This is a thick book that covers a lot of material. The last Chapters even provided introductions to application development with C, PERL and PHP. MySQL: The complete Reference really seemed like an actual complete reference. While it may not go to deep into every subject it does at least briefly cover each topic. Most of the focus was on SQL (Structured Query Language) though.

There were only a few minor issues with this book aside from minor grammatical errors. For one thing, you would occasionally have to modify the sample tables before you could even start the exercise. Also, it would have been nice having more sample tables and data so I could follow along in more of the examples. Frequently, my result set wouldn't quite match the one in the book. Additionally, some of the command wouldn't even execute or would return an error message. Lastly, the chapters on development were pretty useless unless you are already familiar with one of the languages.

But, I believe many of the above problems where because of version differences and the fact that I was running MySQL on windows. Although windows instructions were given as well the book examples were still more oriented towards a UNIX installation. Also, MySQL would be several versions newer on my computer. I believe that made a difference on some of the results as well. And for windows administration its better just to use one of the suggested GUI programs since many of the commands were difficult to run from the command prompt.

So, I wasn't quite able to follow along with all the examples for one reason or another. Nevertheless, there were still plenty of quality examples I could follow along in. In addition, there was still a lot to learn from just reading through the material. Overall, this book works well as a reference or for working the Chapters in order. Even though the book's user level isn't indicated I believe it provides a fine introduction for a beginner.

Excellent Reference
I've learned a lot from Vaswani.I think he has done an outstanding job of cataloging and summarizing MySQL.You can go to the very good index and find a few references, then find what you need.To me, a good index is a top priority, & Vaswani did a pretty good job with the index.

I did find a few subjects which need more depth, but most subjects were covered well enough to answer my questions.

This 4 star rating is from the perspective of a beginning to intermediate web application developer.My purpose in buying this book was to get from a basic SQL knowledge (via a local community college Oracle class) to a better understanding of MySQL, to use with PHP etc.I am not a systems administrator and have no desire to be one.Just wanted to use MySQL on a couple business projects, and MySQL Complete Reference has definitely helped.

I think it is an excellent choice for a beginning to intermediateLAMP or MySQL application developer.For an application developer, I highly recommend it.

Useless! Don't Buy This Book
This is a useless book, perhaps this could be useful for a newbie to know what MySQL is. I never recommend this book even for a moderate developer.

This book doesn't solve the issue or DON'T EVENT HINT installing multiple instances of MySQL servers, specially on Linux environment.

The performance optimisation and administrative details placed on this book are very little and yet they are very abstract.

i bought this book to save time, for administrative /configuration/performance optimisation purpose BUT I FOUND NOTHING USEFUL.

You don't find any reference to the use of the Password() function and password comparision.

Also the significant part of this book is, it doesn't have anything useful for a administrator, who wants to optimise and hack the power of MySql.

we're paying for a techie book like this, not to see the Mysql manual duplicated, but to see more value added features which comes with the experience of the auther+++++which this book has compromised and beatifully lets down those who seek more depths in mysql.

MySql official manual is still the best , save your $$$$ don't buy this book get the MySql manual at
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/index.html

Tyronne Bershath Wickramarathne

Very helpful primer
Unlike most computer-related books, this one actually makes sense. The author has a no-nonsense approach to getting points across that most computer "authors" lack. It's very well organized and it's oriented to the beginner/intermediate audience. As a computer scientist myself, I found this book to quite welcoming and easy to find specific subjects in it. I was up and running in about three days. I created my first MySQL database and had it well-tuned in about a week or so, which is remarkable because I hadn't had any MySQL experience up to that point. Very solid, helpful book. Highly recommend. ... Read more

Product Description
Integrate the flexibility of Python and the power of MySQL to boost the productivity of your Python applications

• Implement the outstanding features of Python's MySQL library to their full potential
• See how to make MySQL take the processing burden from your programs
• Learn how to employ Python with MySQL to power your websites and desktop applications
• Apply your knowledge of MySQL and Python to real-world problems instead of hypothetical scenarios
• A manual packed with step-by-step exercises to integrate your Python applications with the MySQL database server

In Detail

Python is a dynamic programming language, which is completely enterprise ready, owing largely to the variety of support modules that are available to extend its capabilities. In order to build productive and feature-rich Python applications, we need to use MySQL for Python, a module that provides database support to our applications. Although you might be familiar with accessing data in MySQL, here you will learn how to access data through MySQL for Python efficiently and effectively.

This book demonstrates how to boost the productivity of your Python applications by integrating them with the MySQL database server, the world's most powerful open source database. It will teach you to access the data on your MySQL database server easily with Python's library for MySQL using a practical, hands-on approach. Leaving theory to the classroom, this book uses real-world code to solve real-world problems with real-world solutions.

The book starts by exploring the various means of installing MySQL for Python on different platforms and how to use simple database querying techniques to improve your programs. It then takes you through data insertion, data retrieval, and error-handling techniques to create robust programs. The book also covers automation of both database and user creation, and administration of access controls. As the book progresses, you will learn to use many more advanced features of Python for MySQL that facilitate effective administration of your database through Python. Every chapter is illustrated with a project that you can deploy in your own situation.

By the end of this book, you will know several techniques for interfacing your Python applications with MySQL effectively so that powerful database management through Python becomes easy to achieve and easy to maintain.

A practical manual packed with step-by-step examples to manage your MySQL database efficiently through Python

What you will learn from this book

• Explore the various means to install MySQL for Python, from using an egg to unrolling a tarball
• Query the database and retrieve records through MySQL for Python
• Implement insertion of data into a MySQL database in Python
• Carry out error-handling in MySQL for Python in order to ensure the robustness of programs
• Use secure logging techniques to record how your users use your programs
• Carry out record-by-record retrieval to save a lot of overhead while retrieving data
• Handle insertion of large amounts of data using iteration and the executemany function
• Automate the creation and removal of databases and tables using MySQL for Python
• Use the MySQL for Python library to automate user creation and to administer access controls
• Log user activity with MySQL for Python by using MySQL's date and time support
• See how to revise database programs to include more functionality
• Use aggregate functions to make MySQL take the burden off your web server
• Save time and processing resources by scripting JOINs and subqueries

Approach

This is a practical, tutorial-style book that includes many examples to demonstrate the full potential of MySQL for Python. Every chapter starts with an explanation of the various areas for using MySQL for Python and ends with work on a sample application using the programming calls just learned. All complicated concepts are broken down to be very easy to understand.

Everything in the book is designed to help you learn and use MySQL for Python to address your programming needs in the fastest way possible.

Who this book is written for

This book is meant for intermediate users of Python who want hassle-free access to their MySQL database through Python. If you are a Python programmer who wants database-support in your Python applications, then this book is for you. This book is a must-read for every focused user of the MySQL for Python library who wants real-world applications using this powerful combination of Python and MySQL. ... Read more