Road Map to This Book
This book is organized into four parts. The first concentrates on general concepts of database use. The second focuses on writing your own programs that use MySQL. The third is aimed at those readers who have administrative duties. The fourth consists of a set of appendixes that provide reference material.
Part I: General MySQL Use
Getting Started with MySQL and SQL.
Discusses how MySQL can be useful to you, and provides a tutorial that introduces the interactive MySQL client program, covers the basics of SQL, and demonstrates MySQL's general capabilities.
MySQL SQL Syntax and Use.
Every major RDBMS now available understands SQL, but every database engine implements a slightly different SQL dialect. This chapter discusses SQL with particular emphasis on those features that make MySQL distinctive.
Working with Data in MySQL.
Discusses the data types that MySQL provides for storing your information, the properties and limitations of each type, when and how to use them, how to choose between similar types, expression evaluation, and type conversion.
Query Optimization.
How to make your queries run more efficiently.
Part II: Using MySQL Programming Interfaces
Introduction to MySQL Programming.
Discusses some of the application programming interfaces (APIs) available for MySQL and provides a general comparison of the APIs that the book covers in detail.
Writing MySQL Programs Using C.
How to write C programs using the API provided by the MySQL C client library.
Writing MySQL Programs Using Perl DBI.
How to write Perl scripts using the DBI module. Covers standalone command-line scripts and scripts for Web site programming.
Writing MySQL Programs Using PHP.
How to use the PHP scripting language and the PEAR DB module to write dynamic Web pages that access MySQL databases.
Part III: MySQL Administration
Introduction to MySQL Administration.
An overview of what a database administrator's duties are and what you should know to run a MySQL site successfully.
The MySQL Data Directory.
An in-depth look at the organization and contents of the data directory, the area under which MySQL stores databases, log files, and status files.
General MySQL Administration.
How to make sure your operating system starts and stops the MySQL server properly when your system comes up and shuts down. Also includes instructions for setting up MySQL user accounts, and discusses log file maintenance, configuring storage engines, server tuning, running multiple servers, and setting up replication servers.
MySQL and Security.
What you need to know to make your MySQL installation safe from intrusion, both from other users on the server host and from clients connecting over the network. Describes how to set up your MySQL server to support secure connections over SSL.
Database Backups, Maintenance, and Repair.
Discusses how to reduce the likelihood of disaster through preventive maintenance, how to back up your databases, and how to perform crash recovery if disaster strikes in spite of your preventive measures.
Part IV: Appendixes
Obtaining and Installing Software.
Where to get and how to install the major tools and sample database files described in the book.
Data Type Reference.
Descriptions of MySQL's data types.
Operator and Function Reference.
Descriptions of the operators and functions that are used to write expressions in SQL statements.
System, Status, and User Variable Reference.
Descriptions of each variable maintained by the MySQL server, and how to use your own variables in SQL statements.
SQL Syntax Reference.
Descriptions of each SQL statement supported by MySQL.
MySQL Program Reference.
Descriptions of the programs provided in the MySQL distribution.
C API Reference.
Descriptions of data types and functions in the MySQL C client library.
Perl DBI API Reference.
Descriptions of methods and attributes provided by the Perl DBI module.
PHP and PEAR DB API Reference.
Descriptions of the PEAR DB module methods provided for MySQL support in PHP.
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