 Show A MySQL database is nothing in itself. Rather a MySQL database is a way of organizing a group of tables. If you were going to create a bunch of different tables that shared a common theme, you would group them into one database to make the management process easier. Creating Your First DatabaseMost web hosts do not allow you to create a database directly through a PHP script. Instead they require that you use the PHP/MySQL administration tools on the web host control panel to create these databases. Create a database and assign a new user to this database. For all of our beginning examples we will be using the following information:
Note: The table may change in the advanced lessons, but everything else will remain the same! The server is the name of the server we want to connect to. Because all of our scripts are going to be placed on the server where MySQL is located the correct address is localhost. If the MySQL server was on a different machine from where the script was running, then you would need to enter the correct url (ask your web host for specifics on this). Your database, table, username, and password do not have to match ours. If you choose a different set of login information, remember to insert your own information when copying the scripts in this tutorial. Status CheckSo far, you should have created a new database and assigned a user to it. You should not have created a table yet. If you are up-to-date, then continue the tutorial. We will be making our first table in an upcoming lesson.
Download Tizag.com's MySQL BookIf you would rather download the PDF of this tutorial, check out our MySQL eBook from the Tizag.com store. You may also be interested in getting the PHP eBook Found Something Wrong in this Lesson?Report a Bug or Comment on This Lesson - Your input is what keeps Tizag improving with time! MySQL is currently the most popular open source database server in existence. On top of that, it is very commonly used in conjunction with PHP scripts to create powerful and dynamic server-side applications. MySQL has been criticized in the past for not supporting all the features of other popular and more expensive DataBase Management Systems. However, MySQL continues to improve with each release (currently version 5), and it has become widely popular with individuals and businesses of many different sizes. What is a Database?A database is a structure that comes in two flavors: a flat database and a relational database. A relational database is much more oriented to the human mind and is often preferred over the gabble-de-gook flat database that are just stored on hard drives like a text file. MySQL is a relational database. In a relational structured database there are tables that store data. The columns define which kinds of information will be stored in the table. An individual column must be created for each type of data you wish to store (i.e. Age, Weight, Height). On the other hand, a row contains the actual values for these specified columns. Each row will have 1 value for each and every column. For example a table with columns (Name, Age, Weight-lbs) could have a row with the values (Bob, 65, 165). If all this relational database talk is too confusing, don't despair. We will talk about and show a few examples in the coming lessons. Why Use a Database?Databases are most useful when it comes to storing information that fits into logical categories. For example, say that you wanted to store information of all the employees in a company. With a database you can group different parts of your business into separate tables to help store your information logically. Example tables might be: Employees, Supervisors, and Customers. Each table would then contain columns specific to these three areas. To help store information related to each employee, the Employees table might have the following columns: Hire, Date, Position, Age, and Salary. Learn MySQLBefore you begin this tutorial you should have a basic knowledge of the information covered in our PHP and HTML tutorials. This tutorial focuses heavily on using MySQL in a PHP environment. It is aimed at teaching those who have web hosts with PHP and MySQL already installed. If you are unsure, please contact your web host.
Download Tizag.com's MySQL BookIf you would rather download the PDF of this tutorial, check out our MySQL eBook from the Tizag.com store. You may also be interested in getting the PHP eBook Found Something Wrong in this Lesson?Report a Bug or Comment on This Lesson - Your input is what keeps Tizag improving with time! |
