Additional Resources
If you have a question that this book doesn't answer, where should you turn? Useful resources include the Web sites for the software you need help with:
Those sites contain pointers to various forms of information, such as reference manuals, frequently asked-question (FAQ) lists, and mailing lists:
Reference manuals.
The primary documentation included with MySQL itself is the Reference Manual. It's available in several formats, including an online version. For those who prefer printed format, MySQL Press publishes a MySQL Administrator's Guide and MySQL Language Reference, both of which are derived from the Reference Manual. PHP's manual comes in several forms, too.
Manual pages.
Documentation for the DBI module and its MySQL-specific driver, DBD::mysql, can be read online with the perldoc command. Try perldoc DBI and perldoc DBD::mysql. The DBI document provides general concepts. The MySQL driver document discusses capabilities specific to MySQL.
FAQs.
There are frequently asked-question lists for DBI, PHP, PEAR, and Apache.
Mailing lists.
Several mailing lists centering around the software discussed in this book are available. It's a good idea to subscribe to the ones that deal with the tools you want to use. It's also a good idea to use the archives for those lists that have them. When you're new to a tool, you will have many of the same questions that have been asked (and answered) a million times, and there is no reason to ask again if you can find the answer with a quick search of the archives. Instructions for subscribing to the mailing lists vary, but you can find the necessary information at the URLs shown here:
Ancillary Web sites.
Besides the official Web sites, some of the tools discussed here have ancillary sites that provide more information, such as sample source code or topical articles. Check for a "Links" area on the official site you're visiting.
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