MySQL (4th Edition) (Developer's Library)

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114 Reviews

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I read a lot of computer books both as part of my day job (unix sysadmin) and on the side (wrote 2 computer books). Normally I'm not moved to write nice things about the competition, but this book is truly impressive.

The organization of the chapters is logical, proceeding from introductory to advanced topics in clearly defined stages. The author thankfully resisted the current trend of giving the chapters cutesy names that communicate nothing. The writing is clear and concise. The indexing is superb. The coverage of the subject matter is unbelievably complete, encompassing not only MySQL and general database theory, but also almost every other aspect of database programming.

In the six months I've been working with it I've never been unable to find the answer to a MySQL question in this book. Indeed, the Appendices are so good that I have found answers in here when the books I was reading on PHP and the Perl DBI turned out to be wrong.

MySQL is a very impressive achievement in all respects.

Just got the book two days ago and have not put it down except to read "Building Database Applications on the Web Using PHP3." (another great buy.)

I am new to SQL and this book is something worth buying. It is written for both techies and non-techies, and if you have the desire to learn MySQL, buy this book. It is the most concise and well written book on the language ever.

Make sure you block out a chunk of time, because once you start reading, you will not put this book down. It fills the gap where other books fail. The tutorial gets you up to speed very quickly (VERY) and you will be building databases within the first 1/2 hour of opening the book. I buy an average of 5 or so books a week and I guarantee that most of them will be covered with dust before I put this book down.

If you have the desire to learn on your own and want to learn MySQL...

BUY THE BOOK! Don't wait! Sell something if you have to, get a second job. Whatever it takes, you can not be without this book!

First I got started with the mysql through the online documentation avilable at mysql's website, which is written and being maintained by Paul Dubois.

After that I decided to buy the book, and I was very satisfied with my decision. Below I am listing several evaluative criterias that indeed make the book ( and the author, as well) the best choice available thus far:

1) Great for beginners: To understand how to keep a grade book, you don't need huge brains(I hope so). That's exactly what Paul starts his book with, and makes his way through to some RDBMS terminologies that you won't even notice.

2) From the simplest to more advanced... Such books make the learning for beginniners piece of cake, and for experienced ones a lof of fun. The book's focus is on couple of tables that you build in the first chapter, and keep manipulating throughout the book. Paul never forgets about those tables. Even in the Second section of the book (Using MySQL Programming Interfaces), he teaches you to write applications using C, Perl and PHP to manipulate them. Since you build them all together with Paul, you have more understanding of what you're doing. Of course, by the end of the book it gets advanced, which makes it the right choise for advanced programmers as well.

3) Great references Oh yes. Awesome appendixes. Listings of all the functions, keywords, syntaxes are available (in alphabetical order). Also seperate appendixes for Perl DBI API, C API and PHP API makes it even more useful

4) Easy language. This is deginitely important. Even though the books are in english, not all of them gurantee you comprehension. Sometimes you might find the lingo of the book of too high a level, or even vice versa. None of those are the cases with the MySQL book. Paul uses plain english and switches to RDBMS lingo whenever he thinks it is appropriate.

5) The book is definitely from an expert. You better don't doubt it! Since Paul is the one in charge of the official documentation, who else could tell you more about the subject?

6) Still got the gap? Let him fill it... Another thing that pleased was the fact, unlike other aUtHoRs, it is not hard to get hold of Paul in mysql mailing list. He is kind enough to answer the questions, and/or contribute to the discussions about the subject.

If you are interested with learning MySql, I want you to buy the book, because there're no other books better than this one so far. Also, support for such authors is important.

I have purchased many books on SQL. I USUALLY purchase books (I own over 30) from Oreilly, as I did with their MySql/MSQL book which was absolutely NOTHING in comparison to the MySQL book by Other New Riders. I really must say this book is PERFECT. It covers EVERY major topic. It is SUPERBLY written, both novices and experts alike can easily learn, follow, and understand this book. It's an extraordinarly effective tutorial, learing guide, and reference. It gives clear, easy to follow instructions and examples on everything, and anything you need to do in reguard to databases. I give this book my HIGHEST possible recommendation. This book was worth every single penny I paid for it.

I've never reviewed a book before, but was driven to write one for this book.

I cannot speak for a lay audience, but suspect that the tutorial will help bring anyone up to speed.

For someone who is familiar with MySQL, however cursorily, this book is perfect. It's not a question-answer format, but simply superbly written prose. There is a reference section in the back, most every topic of interest is covered. There are detailed programming interface discussions for Perl::DBI, C, and php.

If you want to install MySQL onto a box, have MySQL on a box, or want to optimize your databases and queries, buy this book.

It's the best computer 'tome' I've ever read, kudos to the author.

I've been programming SQL for five years, but I just recently started learning how to program on Linux. I needed to do database programming with a Web front end, so I chose Apache and MySQL, with Perl as the 'glue', by using the mod_perl module.

This book showed me concisely what I needed to get up and running. It has many great examples, is easy to read, and had me writing code in about an hour. (Had to install the .rpm's..{grin}

This book also includes a great chapter on the DBI interface for MySQL. I found this to be a good way to interface with MySQL from within the Perl modules, as it renders my code portable.

I *highly* recommend this book to anybody trying to start out, like I did.

I have read several books on MySQL. I compare them one by one and this contains the most comprehensive resources among all of them. This book clearly identifies the strength and weakness of the DBMS. If you are new to DBMS, this book helps you quickly equip with the knowledge. I especially love the part of API programming, as it gives detail information on how to do web programming with MySQL. Sample codes on Perl, PHP, etc are included, and they all work flawlessly. You don't need to worry how to make your Apache support PHP and Perl, as this book clearly teaches you the necessary procedure to do so. I believe the author has spent considerable time and effort in writing this book. Other useful resources include database maintainence, security and user administration, which are all essential parts in DBMS. Do buy this book if you want to setup MySQL in your environment.

This is an outstanding book on the MySQL database. Paul DuBois systematically takes the reader from a MySQL tutorial to advanced topics in MySQL database administration. Since I have installed the MySQL database I have barely put this book down. The chapters on the Perl DBI API and PHP are alone worth the price of the book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that is thinking about using MySQL.

I already owned the O'Reilly book on MySQL and there is no comparison. The O'Reilly book barely scratches the surface of what MySQL is and what it can do as a relational database. I have since given the O'Reilly book away.

I was already developing mysql & php sites and apps when i purchased this book, so it was a good buy as a reference text, but if you intent to learn Mysql, there are better books than this one.

It is deep, slow to read, with rather small text size. For the beginner, i think it's not a good starter. But on the other hand it has almost everything you would want to know about Mysql, with lots of examples and quite well explained.

I learned Mysql and PHP from Sam's "Php and Mysql web development", and i couldn't recommend that one enough. It's a GREAT text for the beginner. I found myself writing Php/Mysql web sites in less than 3 months, starting from nothing.

I agree with other reviewers: This is the excellent book on MySQL so far. The author explains and covers the MySQL clearly. If you're developing applications that use MySQL as a RDBMS, then you should go for this book. You won't be disappointed. The author also mainly covers C API, Perl API, and PHP API for manipulating MySQL. However, you could use Java or Java Servlets to do the same thing. And if you're using other RDBMS, then this book will provide you all necessary information on what MySQL could do and could not do before you decided to switch to MySQL. O'Reilly book "mSQL and MySQL" is also a good book on MySQL because it covers more APIs using with MySQL. Thus, it's quite useful for quick reference to MySQL and language APIs. I would like to give this book 5 stars, and the "mSQL and MySQL" 4 stars. I have both of them :)

I was new to MySQL when I purchased this book, and using only this book I was able to setup a *large* PHP/MySQL website with complex features in only a few short weeks. Paul DuBois very clearly explains everything, and I cannot say a bad thing about this book. This book is excellent for beginners, and as an somewhat experienced MySQL administrator and PHP programmer, I still use this book as a reference...many books say "for novice and advanced alike" but this is truly one of the books which can uphold that statement. I have a hard time with some technical manuals, but I'm not sure that I would classify this as a technical manual, its like the DuBois is giving me personal instructions. It never grows old, and is truly indispensible.

I've been using MySQL and PHP for a few months already when I got this book based on all the GLOWING reviews here at Amazon but I was somewhat disappointed upon getting it because I realized there was little information the book that I could not have gleaned from the docs that came with MySQL plus other online resources. If you're the type who prefers 'hand-holding' you will probably like this book however if you're a fairly hardcore techie guy who can get by with just a reference and a simple tutorial, you will find this book redundant. I found the online MySQL manual to be far more useful than this book. The main value of this book being more of a quickstart guide for MySQL and how to interface in to C and Perl. This sort of info is easily found on the web so save your money and some trees.

Now that I'm a more or less experienced user of MySQL (and mostly due to practice and not from reading the book), I find that the rather sparse reference part of the book is quite lacking and only partially useful.

I had little experience with database creation and maintenance prior to my current project. In fact, I had been putting off getting involved in any database projects for fear of the learning curve. I'm midway through the project now, and DuBois' guide has been indespensible throughout.

Highlights:
* chapter organization -- starts with a tutorial on basic usage of MySql, and relegates installation guidance to an appendix. Too often such texts mix usage and administation in a chaotic jumble.
* comprehensive index -- I've yet to fail in finding a topic at the first entry I've searched.
* appendices (MySQL operators and datatypes, SQL, C and Perl api references) -- due to the size of this volume, these handy reference sections can be hard to thumb to, unless you glue in some post-its like I did, but they're worth finding for quick, clear descriptions of total Mysql usage.
* prose -- Terse (despite the volumes' 1200 pages), clear, and well-organized.
* author's background -- DuBois' close involvment in the ongoing efforts of the MySql project have given him a vast knowledge of the arcane differences in versions and operating systems as well as upcoming features. The 2nd edition is very uptodate at of mid-summer 2003.

MySql, BTW, has not disappointed.

Recently I had to write a mysql demo for a tradshow. I had
never worked with mySQL before. I got this book and was
able to complete a full fledged demo in a matter of three
days, working part time. The book is very well organized,
easy to read and understand and best of all the examples
work without modifications. I highly recommend this book
for beginners. I would have done so for all levels but
I'm not an advanced user of mySQL.

If you're thinking of getting started on mySQL this is the
book.

This book is not for beginners, or at least not for those coming from the GUI world without command line experience. Paul makes heavy use of the command line for his examples, and the book in fact contains a large amount of reference content on the command line tools you can use.

That said, the majority of the book is written in a well explained fashion, even the reference part at the end has lengthy explanations, so you will always find what you need. The reference section would be the ideal place to look at for type info, function parameters, etc. if the book would not be that heavy, but the precise explanations would not be possible otherwise.

This book tries to be everything for everybody, which is hard to accomplish. The first section provides an introduction to SQL, but there is also significant info for system administrators and a huge amount of pages on programming with C, Perl and PHP in connection with MySQL. If you are a beginner, and you are not interested in having your own server, or writing C programs, then this book might not be the best choice. However, if you would like to have a broad overview with details wherever you need, this book is advisable.

I have just completed the tutorial; I'm very impressed with this book. I had NO experience with SQL, other than nodding my head when someone asked if I knew what it was :^)

I use Linux (mandrake 8/8.1) with mysql/apache/php pre-config'd during OS install.

I have read quite few books recently to get myself up and running with php, mysql and web applications. After going through this tutorial, I am very confidant that I can create web apps using mysql/php. I had no problems with any of the lessons in the tutorials. The author does a GREAT job; no b.s that I didnt understand. I was able to log in to my remote host, setup user accounts, create the sample database perfectly.

I highly recommend this to beginners, at the very least. Ill further update this review int he weeks to come.

ciao

When I first got this book I was put off by its size. I mean what developers have time to read books over 400 pages long? And this one is over twice that size. But I started reading it and I found that it is clear and explains things very well. I also found out that I don't need to read the whole book, because it is broken up into different subjects -- really like several books in one book. I am a single independent developer that is working on building a huge PHP, MySQL Web site and I need to know how to use MySQL very effectively and how to optimize what MySQL has to offer. Since I'm outsourcing all my hosting, at this time I don't need to know about MySQL administration, and since I'm only using PHP, I don't need to know about the other APIs, and I can use the appendixes as a reference for functions and such. So I only have to read about 350 pages instead of 1150. And if I find I need to know about MySQL admin or about another API, it's right there. So, I'm happy, and the book is great. I've read 100 pages so far.

I bought this book some time ago as a php and mysql developer, to learn MySQL better. It is a very good book because the writer is also the programmer (lead programmer - he wrote the most of it) of MySQL. It contains what you'd expect it to contain: Both the theory and the solid code you'll need in many situations. It also explains uses of MySQL with other languages besides PHP and explains the API's pretty well.

It also has a section on managing MySQL on a webserver, how to backup properly, and MySQL security - not only for the programmer but for the system admin managing users and backups. It also contains a function reference appendix which, when properly used, is quite useful.

It is suitable as an intro level book as well, it DOES explain the basics and IS aimed for the beginner with zero knowledge. It will teach you MySQL but you might have to check some spesific tutorials online for spesific code you might want to use in projects - this book is not a cookbook, I don't think they intended it to be either. All in all, this book deserves its 5 stars - and keep handy Kevin Yank's hands-on applied tutorial to apply it to your projects.

I bought this book after reading the reviews. I wanted to learn mySQL for a specific project and since I have about ten years Unix knowledge I thought it was about time I learned an 'add-on' skill like databases. However, I feel that if this book is supposed to be THE book for the absolute beginner, then I've been short changed. 90% of it is written very clearly, but an important section which would prove tremendously useful for beginners like myself fails. The subject of creating a username / password is skimmed in early chapters by refering you to contact your database administrator. For some reason, its not until near end of the book do you get some guidance which I still failed to perform correctly. I bought this book thinking I'd not need to speak to a DBA in order for me to create a simple database (or to use the sample one's that I ftp'd from the publishers server). However... you do need to know someone with some DBA skills, even if the help costs you a coffee...

Thus, excellent book, but I'm only giving it 3stars since its strictly not for the absolute beginner... but nice try though.

Clear, well written examples, lots of information, and logical explanations. This is a better value than any other of the book on Mysql and is actually easy to read.

This book is full of interesting data - and is even probably complete. However when it comes to searching the information you need, this is a different story.

The biggest problem is the index. You need a refresh about the syntax of the command to dump/recover the database... don't look for "dump" or "recover" it's not in.
Even the simplest operations like "How do I extend the fields of my table?", there is neither "add" or "field" in the index (besides the FIELD() function).

Finally the information is hard to find within the chapters also. There are 13 head of chapters with non intuitive titles. The author had seemingly a hard time to manage all that information, and distributing it logically among chapters. Repetitions, omissions,... the book is not pleasant to search/follow/read.

I agree one must be glad to have a book about Mysql, this is why I gave 3 stars, but the book could be largely improved.

If someone approached me and asked `Mike, I want to learn MySQL ad I can only afford one book, which one would you recommend?', I would have to answer MySQL by Paul DuBois.

I actually owe my involvement with MySQL and my current employment to this book. When I was taking an Oracle course in University I found a copy of the first edition of this book in a bookstore at a discount and picked it up in the hopes that since it referred to SQL on the cover it might help me with my studies. While the book did teach me a good deal about SQL, it also taught me about MySQL, an RDBMS I would use exclusively as soon as the Oracle course was over with.

At more than 1200 pages, this is certainly the most comprehensive book on MySQL available to date. This book covers everything from installing MySQL to query optimization to PHP programming, along with everything in between. The book also provides enough reference information that it serves as a nice substitute for the MySQL documentation when you do not have internet access.

Part one of this book deals with the basics. MySQL is described, and a basic SQL tutorial is provided. Later chapters describe choosing data types and performing the various tasks that are involved in using MySQL. By the time you complete part one, you should be able to access data, create tables, join tables, and optimize your queries. For a typical user these first 300 pages should be all you need to become an advanced user (not an administrator mind you).

Part two occupies the next 250 pages and is a nice introducion to programming and instructs you in the use of the C, Perl,
and PHP APIs. While not as extensive a programming introduction as you will find in a dedicated PHP, Perl, or C book, the subject of database programming with these languages is well covered, and you should be able to write a basic database application after reading part two.

In part three, Paul DuBois descibes the administration of a MySQL database. Of particular interest should be the chapters on
administration and security. Additional subjects include file maintenance, server configuration, and replication. As with part one, part three is comprehensive and should provide solutions for anything you may encounter when administering a MySQL database.

The reference information in the appendices is quite extensive, and covers everything from installation to function and syntax references. The information should be current to MySQL 5, and is an excellent resource when you do not have access to the online reference manual
with its current information.

This is without a doubt one of the finest resources available on MySQL. This was my first MySQL book and my old first edition is well worn and has served me very well. If you need a good MySQL book that can take you from being an absolute beginner to a seasoned DBA, this is the book for you.

I read somewhere online that this book would be a great help to someone with no previous experience of mySQL - I have many years Unix experience and consider myself reasonably quick at picking up new skills yet I think this book was a waste of my money...

Before you can create a database you need to create a database account which aids data security. This was the area I stalled on because the book simply refers you to ask for assistance from your DBA... After more than half the way through the book it does spend some effort on creating access to your database for others though it does not say how you created access for yourself in the first place.

So - I have the book and no DBA meaning I have still to find another book to walk me through basic mySQL... I felt tricked and this book takes pride for being the first disappointment in my existing library of 50+ books covering Unix, Linux, Windoze, Networking and programming...

Saying all this though, I'm sure the book is a useful tool if you have some mySQL experience, but don't expect it to teach you how to run until you've learned how to walk elsewhere...

This is by far the best MySQL resource (not just book) I have ever seen. Not only does it cover (at length) the MySQL SQL Server and accompanying clients, but also covers the PHP, PERL DBI, and C APIs. If you have EVER seen any type of database or are remotely familiar with database theory, you'll be developing your own MySQL *application* after the 385th page (which is the end of the API overviews... if you already know your API of choice, you'll be up-and-running after the second chapter).

This book answers a lot of questions left out by other MySQL books. If you are new at this, take the time and download the samp. databases and work through the examples. The PHP section is also very informative and helpful.

MySQL + PHP + Apache + Linux = a combination that is very hard to beat! Learn it, love it, live it.

This is a great book. I just got in today and I have already read through all of the DBI section and have found it to be the MOST helpful I could find. I have also touched on other parts of the book and found it to be a world of helpful information. If you want to learn about MySql and the many ways to use it, access it, and program with it BUY THIS BOOK!

Now in an expanded and updated third edition, the popular MySQL by computer software expert Paul DuBois provides a comprehensive and superbly organized guide to using MySQL, effectively, productively, and immediately. This massive, 1320 page manual describes everything from the basics, to using MySQL to generate dynamic Web pages, to administering MySQL servers. This newly revised third edition covers the new features and improvements of MySQL 5 in detail, and incorporates feedback from readers and top MySQL developers to make this the most comprehensive and thorough edition to date.

When I reviewed this book, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the author, Dubois, explained things very clearly so I could understand the concepts and how to apply them. Dubois is a master of MySQL For a book of it's size, it maintains continuity of concepts throughout. The breadth and depth of knowledge that it covers is terrific. If you only choose one MySQL book choose this one.

I was beginning to research MySQL for myself if hopes of using this technology in future web design / development projects. I knew that I wanted an instructional book, as well as, a strong reference book. MySQL does both. In his book, Paul Dubois really provides a comprehensive guide into the world of My SQL. Through using this book, the reader is exposed to everything from the basics, to using MySQL to generate dynamic Web pages, to administering MySQL servers.

The first part of the book started out for beginners like me, then, later the book progressed to more advanced topics. Current programmers who work with PHP and MySQL will get a lot of use out of the middle section.

At the end of the book, there are many appendices (10) that include information about other languages and interfaces like Perl, C, PHP and others. The appendices included a complete MySQL data type reference and information on built-in functionality. The very detailed index (50 pages!) at the end of the book makes finding exactly what you need quick and painless.

When working with my own server, the information Dubois provides on installation, configuration, administration, security, and troubleshooting was invaluable. I was able to get my server online quickly and began writing code in no time, with no former installation experience with MySQL. The tutorial was a great help and the step-by-step examples worked straight out of the book. You did not have to modify or edit them at all to get them to work.

This is the 3rd edition of this book. The author made this book available to the MySQL community for their feedback; that's just what he got. What's very refreshing is that the author took the feedback to heart and added it to this new edition, making it a strong and field-tested survival guide when it comes to MySQL.

Loren Elks
Group Manager, D-MAG.org

I bought this book together with PHP Essentials by Julie C. Meloni and I think they go perfectly with each other. I bought this book about six months ago and I keep coming back to all the sections all the time. Its easy read with alot of great examples covering the most of my needs so far. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in MySQL, both beginners and experienced people.

Ps. To me it looks like the author was paid by the quality and not by the wordcount, which is great :-)

Possibly one of the best technical books I've opened. Even glossing through it I learnt plenty about MySQL, even though I thought I knew enough. From basic to advanced and from programming to admin - this book has it all!

The book works around a sample database which supposedly could be downloaded from a link in the book.

The link proved to be outdated and no sample database could be found.

This is a serious flaw, as the beginner has no visual reference point.

I give it 4 stars due to lack of info on the Java APIs. This is the best mySql book on out there!! I have a couple of others and sometimes they conflict. The other books don't tell the whole story like how different table types impact certain features - this book does and it always seems to be right. Buy this one and leave the others behind.

This book is a "must-have" for the person beginning to use PHP with MySQL for web development. Concise, practical information. Easy to understand. Explanations of commnads and their uses as well as many examples. Well indexed, very easy to find specific information. This book has been invaluable to me in getting database driven applications on the web. This is one of the most thorough books on the subject I have seen to date. Well worth the investment!

I agree with other rave reviews: this is certainly the best technical book I have encountered, and it is a pleasure both to read through and to use as a reference. DuBois's style is clear and succinct, with a fine wit. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this book is how much DuBois teaches within the confines of a single book -- so much, and so well presented, that the book seems far shorter than its physical thickness would suggest. By way of learning how to use MySQL for practical benefit, the reader also learns standard SQL, fundamental principles of database organization and management, and coding in C, Perl, and PHP, for use both on a local machine and in the Web context, not to mention installation and maintenance on various systems. The key to DuBois's clarity is his presentation of revealing examples at every step of the way, with explanations of each item. The index is also superb and there are richly helpful reference appendices.

(There is one error on p. 250, where DuBois leaves out the first argument to print_error(), the connection handle -- an easy enough mistake and one that I have made far too often since reading the book.)

If there were a prize for excellence in technical books, it should go to Paul DuBois. Bravo!

I had some experience with MS Access database design, and have done some Perl programming. After skimming through just the first 40 pages or so and refering back to other pages as needed I was able to write my first application that used MySQL. I took one of the freeware shopping carts and converted it to MySQL and it was all a breeze. Of the 40 or so tech manuals that I have on my desk this has got to be the best written, easiest to understand manual that I have ever read.

I almost bought another MySQL book from this site until I read the reviews on this one and then changed my mind. That was one of the best decisions I ever made.... Thank you to all the others that placed reviews for saving me a lot of headaches.

Great book. I never give reviews, but if you want to learn MySQL, this book will do. It is written with no assumptions, clear, well organized, and factual (so many writers are sloppy with their facts and examples - but not here). I wish this guy would write a book on perl! You will not be disappointed.

The choice may be limited but this is the book you want if you're working with MySQL. Extremely thorough without being bore-you-to-tears dry. You won't be disappointed.

This book covers everything I needed to know about MySQL and PHP (I didn't know SQL nor PHP beforehand). It's very well written and a pleasure to read (read it in two days).

When I got this book, I already had a pretty good knowledge of SQL and databases in general, so I cannot comment on whether or not it is appropriate for complete novices. However, this mammoth improved my knowledge of SQL and MySQL by several orders of magnitude. And to top it off, it is a treat to read. Clear and consice, it's only time consuming because it has over 1200 pages.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking to learn more about MySQL. It is however, lacking a few very minor areas - the section on SET column types, for example, could contain a note that spaces are not allowed between its values (though they are used regularly throughout the book) as well as an example SELECT statement showing options for finding rows whose SET columns contain (but aren't equal to) a specific value (hint: use FIND_IN_SET() or LIKE '%....%'). The index could be slightly more filled out, and the function/operator reference entries could be enhanced by a single usage/syntax example (though clearly, this is not always necessary.) But overall, these are only very small blemishes on a gargantuan masterpiece.

The book MySQL is an excellent book. My employer uses MySQL for many of our database needs and, being relatively inexperienced with databases, I had to be brought up to speed quickly and with good, accurate knowledge. This book is that resource. The coverage includes everything from setting up databases and tables to new users and permissions. When I have a question I almost always go directly to the book as opposed to the help pages that came with the database itself. The clear wording and solid explanations along with the excellent examples make it an extremely handy reference to have around at all times. I find myself referring to the book quite often for the finer points in creating SQL statements to do what I need them to do. The examples in the book cover almost every situation I've needed them to. Very rarely do I have the need to go elsewhere or seek additional resources for an answer. If you are going to be developing applications that interact with a MySQL database (whether your language is Java, C, PHP, or PERL) you need this book. It covers all of the functions and common tasks as well as database administration, security, and maintenance and repair. This is a great book and I would highly recommend it to everyone working with MySQL databases.

Prior to reading this book, my knowledge of MySQL was limited at best. I had built some web sites but wanted to offer database hosting as an option to my customers. My limited knowledge of database administration was holding me back though. Since I had access to MySQL as well as PHP, I figured this would be a good book to get me started. Huge understatement! Before even finishing the book, I was able to offer this service to my existing customers. Now, granted, these databases were not massive and multi-featured, however, they suited my customers needs perfectly. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about MySQL and it's related scripting languages. It is well written, and the author is able to make a dry subject interesting and easy to learn. It is also very easy to find the information you are looking for when using the book as a reference.

This book provides excellent broad coverage of all aspects of MySQL and very detailed in-depth coverage as well. I found the chapters on MySQL administration, backup and recovery, and security particularly helpful. The writing is very clear and provides lots of good examples and step-by-step instructions.

If you want to become a MySQL expert, read this book!

I have the first edition of this book, and I have to say it's one of the best-written books in my very extensive collection of technical books. It's hard to explain why, but I'd have to say that it's easy to read straight through. The organization is such that he never introduces something and then says "but you'll have to wait till chapter 99 to learn about that." Each part builds exclusively on what comes before. He also is just a good technical writer. Not very many people can be an expert in a subject *and* communicate with absolute clarity to others. I have written a lot of technical stuff myself and I'm in absolute awe of the man.

This book has gotten me out of many sticky situations. It covers the basics and covers many functions/ideas that the other mysql books didn't. in fact it helped me resolve an issue on a project that I had.

worth the money, the authors get down and dirty but isn't so abstract that only dba's would understand.

One of the first things I realized when I started reading and working off this book was "I wish I had bought this sooner".

I have written quite a few applications in the past years (mostly in php), but my general understanding of SQL has always been rather weak. One of the reasons I never gave it any thought was "I can make my applications work it out in code, all I need is a simple query" (yes, yes - foolish). What I realized a few chapters into this book was how much I could cut down on my code.

The entire application takes a neater and more efficient shape if you can get to your destination quicker.

I heartly recommend this to anyone starting out, or, knee deep in code. This book is well written, well indexed and has excellent examples. Great Job by the authors.

Although O'Reilly's "MySQL and mSQL" has a better introduction to relational databases, this book is far superior in terms of breadth, examples, and accuracy. When tasked to migrate a project on the Micro$oft platform to PHP/MySQL, this book and the PHP site were all I needed. Don't forget to download the errata and source code from New Riders. A good thick book that looks good too!

This is the definitive book on MySQL. I had to deploy MySQL on a Solaris e250 and had ZERO knowledge of MySQL. I found all the answers I needed to setup and manage MySQL. I also had referenced this is a much more thorough book than the offering by O'Reilly (MySQL & mSQL). If you need a database you can manage with little or no hassle, and do it quickly this is book you need. It is also pretty good at explaining the options for connecting to the DB via various interfaces/languages. For a web-based interface I recommend PHP, and the book "PHP Essentials".

I definetly recommend this book to beginners, i knew nothing about MySQL before reading this book and now i know almost everything i need to know. Very good editing and full of examples, covers nicely Perl and Phyton API's. Only thing that i would change about this book, its that i would put "Administration" part as a first part of the book not the last one. And only thing thats missing is Java API examples. It would be definetly nice to have some. But i still think that this book is one of the greatest.

This book will be an instant classic! Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP3 otherwise known as LAMP is "the cool way" to produce secure database applications on the web. To get it all installed without help you would have to be Bill Gates. (ok bad example.) Paul DuBois has the answers for the MySQL piece of the puzzle. If New Riders didn't publish this book someone else would have had to! --Daryl R. Turek, DoMoreStuff.COM

Paul DuBois is an excellent author. I bought his book, MySQL, about 4 years ago and used it until it was out of date. This new edition proves once again that he is one of the best authors and authorities in this field.
The book is complete and is a great reference for anyone wanting to dive headlong into MySQL. It goes from the very simple to the extremely complex issues facing DBAs (Database Administrators).
The only reason why I don't give his book all 5 stars is that the format of the book can be a bit unwieldy and I know this isn't totally his fault but it makes using the book a bit more difficult for me. I had a hard time finding some things but a little effort in searching paid off every time. Overall, if you are looking to MySQL for solving your database problems, you should definitely buy this one.

The book is a great reference for the full range of syntax that MySQL offers, and also taught me how to use basic SQL syntax. I did know a bit of SQL before I bought this book but I think if I didn't I wouldn't have a problem understanding it. Once you are through the basics there is a pretty sharp learning curve because it gets in-depth. The book includes PHP coding but I found that to be very hard to understand. "MySQL & PHP from Scratch" was an awsome partner to this book because it included a great PHP reference which this book lacks, and was plenty to get me programming in PHP. I'm not sure how well the installation guide is because my hosting company set up the database. The book also includes some UNIX and Perl DBI help but again I only bought the book for SQL so could not tell you how well those sections are.

Yes, this book is getting aged (this is the reason I gave four rather than five stars). The wonderful MySQL people keep their documentation on the web very up-to-date, but sometimes you want a printed reference. This is it. At work, we have MySQL books that are more recent, but they are not as comprehensive. My boss once referred to the book as my "bible" when I told someone off the "top of my head" the page number that would answer their question. That's the power of this book, it is very well organized and get's to the point so that you can use MySQL quickly, regardless of your background. If you have this book, along with a book that is related to MySQL and how you plan to use it (eg., with PHP) and the MySQL website, then you are set!

Heavy emphasis on Unix (ok), Light emphasis on Windows (bummer),

Book is somewhat scattered in thought. Good content though, and I suspect a second edition will clear up a lot.

The 'PHP an dMySQL' book by Sams is scattered too. But it came with an outstanding PDF formatted manual that has saved my A**.

Amazing that out of two books, I'm having to resort to a PDF.

If someone could of just tutorialed getting the basics down for Windows users.

I was extremely dissapointed to say the least. This book doesn't even begin to cover video game programming in mySQL, not even the basics. In fact, it doesn't cover video game programming at all. The section on compiling for DOS must have been lost on the way to the printing press... While the plot had substance to it, the ending was predictable and unoriginal...

I am designing a user database (so that users can log in) for easy2link.com using PHP and MySQL, and I found this book extremely helpful and ideal. This book is more of a tutorial - going through example problems and going through the thought process of deciding what type of variables are needed for certain situations - than a reference (which I would have preferred).

If you are planning on using PHP3 or PHP4, buy PHP Essentials Julie Meloni (although it lacks information about templates). Contrary to what I first would have thought, I find it nice to have two seperate books about the two topics. The overlapping of the topics in the two books is quite elaborate. Whatever you need MySQL for or whatever it is going to interact with, buy this book.

This is an excellent book. It is well written, well explained and makes using MySQL databases easy while giving you a clear view of how it works. Newbies to RDBMS like me can use this book as an excellent intro to databases and will get their feet wet with MySQL fast!
Also, the API references to C++, PHP, etc. are excellent.
My only complaint (and it doesn't take away a star from my review) is that it doesn't have a Java API reference, which is in my opinion, essential.
I strongly suggest to the authors that they include such reference in a upcoming edition of this book (if they do it).
So get this book if you want to have the power that MySQL brings you.

This book is shockingly clear and well-written--something that is always a pleasure and especially surprising in a programming book. The author never forgets the audience in the introductory chapters and even starts with excellent explanations about the value of storing data in relational tables. Two nicely representative sample databases are developed in the first half of the book. These are then used in the latter portions of the book to develop scripts for web applications. I sincerely hope that Mr. DuBois writes more books for those of us who want all the details but need to start at the beginning. It was a great treat for this reader to find such a trustworthy author.

I found all the information are there in MySQL reference which is free if you download from mysql web site.
It is OK to have but the instruction was wrong if you install the windows version of MySQL server.

If you need to learn how to use MySQL you cannot go wrong with this book. This has been one of the best values for the money of all the technical books I've bought in the past few years. I bought it when I had to come up to speed very fast with a web application which uses MySQL. I have found everything I needed so far, from information about administration issues to helpful programming examples. The prose is well-written and easy to follow and although he covers basic stuff it's not in a way that is irritating to people with experience of other database systems.

My colleagues keep walking off with it - even if they are using some other database but find the docs & 3rd party books they have are inadequate. That's a testament to what a useful tool this book is.

i am already finish this book 2 months ago, and if give me enlightment about the sql language, i thought after reading this book i don't need to learn other db,because my real focus is learning programmer language java & perl

this book give me frustration, i need to open the online doc. for looking window using like "load local infile blah.txt into table blah" is not suit for window,

i think i need to change mysql to oracle for window using, but mr. paul is done good job for his books anyway.

keep up mr paul

Not too much more to add to what all the others wrote about this book. Paul DuBois made magic making technical writing come together with practical application. If you use or want to use MySQL, and you DONT get this book, you'll be making a HUGE mistake, and killing countless hours studying other things that could get you confused. This is THE book for MySQL, and I could not (won't) recommend anything else. This is all you need...I implemented my entire e-commerce database for my site with this one book without a single complication....thanks New Riders...

My only complaint about this excellent book is that it is too up-to-date (almost an impossibility in the computer world, but it's true). This book covers a ton of stuff about the latest development release of MySQL, 3.23, but the recommended (stable) release is 3.22 - and there aren't any workarounds listed in the book if you don't have the latest version (and hence the latest tools and commands at your disposal). Me being paranoid about my data, I installed the stable release, and now this book is worth a lot less to me unless I upgrade. But if you're brave (or insane) enough to run a developer's release, then this book will become your new best friend.

This book will not teach you how to work with MySQL. It is, however, a terrific reference manual on the ins and outs of just about every feature (Although I wish coverage of stored procedures and triggers had been more complete). I've worn one out entirely and had to buy a second.

WITHOUT A DOUBT, THIS MAN KNOWS HIS ONIONS AND HOW TO CONVEY HIS KNOWLEDGE TO OTHERS. I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT THE BOOK EXCEPT; IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MYSQL, BUY THE BOOK!!!!!!!.

Whether you are an experienced MySQL database administrator or want a book to show how to administer or develop for MySQL, then this is the book for you. While DBAs will find the appendices an invaluable resource (which cover topics as diverse as column type and function reference to the MySQL API), beginning developers will find the most use out of the more "instructional" chapters. This book is written for a very large audience, and appears to succeed in this area.

The book is divided up into four sections: general use, API, administration, and the appendices (or everything else). The general use section is really geared for new MySQL developers. In this section, the basics of querying data, some of the nuances of MySQL, as well as query optimization are discussed.

I was especially impressed by the appendices, which consisted of about 1/3 of the book. In the appendices, you will find a complete MySQL data type reference as well as various built in functions.

Paul has created a meticulous and well-considered book that is the best overall guide to MySQL available.

The book focuses on practical and pragmatic usage of MySQL, but rarely does so at the expense of technical depth.

In particular, I am impressed by the clarity and usefulness of the introductory chapters that are targeted at readers new to databases. This section gives non-technical users the knowledge and experience needed to make productive use of a database very quickly. I believe that writing high-quality introductory material is one of the greatest challenges for technical authors and Paul has done an excellent job.

Out of about 30 technical books of mine, ranging from programming to UNIX/Linux, this book easily comes out on top. I completed a 6 month part time course in database administration using MySQL, and i can honestly say i learned more and had a better understanding of MySQL from reading this book than what i learned during the course. The book is very well written and easy to understand, not boring (which is important), and easily one of the best technical books ever written. It's just too bad the author hasn't written more technical books *hint*.

When I started programming this was the first book on MySQL I purchased. It taught me everything I needed to get started designing schema's and programming. It also taught me basic PHP! The examples used in this book to outline PHP/MySQL interaction are clear and easy to program. The author uses an include-based programming technique very similar to fuse-box. Read the first few chapters (the rest are reference) and you will have everything you need to know to get started and build upon. I keep this book on my desk as I frequently use it to refresh my query knowledge.

This is one of the only mySQL books, so it's fortunate that it's excellent. I'm fairly non-technical and find this an accessible reference tool every time I pick it up.

Pretty much essential reference if you're working with MySQL and want to do things fast. A lot easier than reading reference docs online. Typeface is easy to read, layout is good. It has become probably the most used of my 40 or so computer books and is now dog-ear'ed to pieces and I have never even read it!

Very good book, informative. Well-paced. I had MYSQL setup in no time using this, and was performing mid-level queries with no problems. Will definately recommend to friends.

I have been reading this book all day (it came yesterday) and it has greatly added to my understanding of MySQL. Like some other reviewers have noted, it has already obsoleted the O'Reilly book.

I have purchased each version of this book and this is by far the best version yet. It was totally reorganized from the previous versions, and adds a great deal of new content covering the new features triggers, stored procedures etc. if you only buy one book on MySQL this is it.

As a guide to MySQL it seems to be fairly complete, although the index is not very good or helpful. Basically you have to begin from the beginning of the book and read it to the end to make sense out of it - it isn't much of a reference work because it is very difficult to navigate, and difficult to find things in the midst of Paul DuBois's endless waffle.

The worst thing about this book, though, is that not only is it very thick and heavy, but it is also exceptionally verbose and contains very much pointless waffling. The book's length could have been reduced by about two hundred pages if Paul DuBois had employed a competent editor to remove the fluff.

Because of the grind involved in tackling Paul DuBois's verbose, tedious and distracting writing style, I give this book three stars.

This book is used at least once a day. Illustrations are clear, and examples concise. Covers all aspects of MySQL.

Only nag is that version 5.0 was obviously still evolving when this was written, so some of the new features such as triggers and views are not fleshed out well. But the author deals with that early on, and does give them some page time.

As with most open source programs, check the website -- there are some really nifty tools now available for MySQL that weren't available even a few months ago.

Worth the price -- don't wait for the fourth edition. If you do, you'll be missing out on what you can do with this amazing product.

SQL has always seemed to be a complicated topic to broach, especially if one has no way of practicing with it. mySQL being an open-source implementation of it makes it possible to experiment with it without breaking your bank account; still, I found the packages and other options confusing. Therefore, I picked up this book, hoping to get my ideas straight.

This book does not disappoint. I was able to install a simple webserver (Apache), mySQL and PHP based on the instructions in the appendix, and got to playing with it in a very short time. And the things I can do with it!

I plan to gain more proficiency with this, and then start implementing ideas from "Translucent Databases" by Peter Wayner, using Java and mySQL. Without a doubt, this book is masterful and an excellent source for a beginner, and a great reference for more advanced users.

Most of the time, to have a good knowledge about something doesn't mean you can teach it properly. Because to teach something requires a lot of different abilities. To play basketball very good does not make you a good coach.

That's why most of the tecnichal books about computers, even for the beginner ones, are so confusing. Because most of the writers are professional programmers but not teachers. They don't have the ability to make communication with readers (students), and understand their needs. They don't have the ability to teach something they know. They don't have the knowledge of the educational psychology.

But Dubois is different. He is a writer, instructor, teacher, professional programmer. He knows every question you possibly will ask, and have answers and examples for everyone of them.

This is the best technical book I have ever read, even for me (I am not a native English speaker).

Highly recommended for MySQL beginners

I found the book to be very good introduction and description of Mysql. I also think the Detailed Command and Data Structure Appendixes are great. Saves my having to open my browser and flip through the manual on-line to figure out how to do something.

The book was also a good introduction on how to think about setting up a database. Probably would need more experience to do something really involved but it helped me think about setting up and Family address application.

Mr. DuBois it that rare author who is both master of a technical subject and a good writer. This book should be required reading for all computer authors. Explanations are concise but thorough. Material is presented sequentially without undue references to material not yet presented. It is getting a bit dated but is still the definitive treatment of MySQL. Well indexed and through, useful for the expert but still accessible to the novice, it may be one of the best manuals ever.

I've seen enough of these comments to believe this is actually author's comments.

I work for a Tech school and this book comes highly recommended to me, besides the book "PHP and MySQL Web Development 0672317842". I am half way through this book and it VERY much complements "PHP and MySQL Web Development". I am not trying to advertise this but if you are like me and love / have to learn to create PHP- Web/Intranet/Database driven-apps/ you will not go wrong with this book. I find that having more then one perspective on the above subjects makes it easier to learn, that is why I am mentioning both books. Hey PHP is free and so is MYSQL. They will both run on Windows or Unix. If you are starting out and attempting to build "Dynamic/Interactive Websites" on a basic open platform/server environment then PHP & MYSQL should be in your scope of learning...

Few computer books are a pleasure to read. This one is. DuBois has written an accessable, clear introduction to mysql, the high performance rdbms.

My only two problems with it are that he doesn't cover python programming (C, PHP and Perl) and there is little coverage of InnoDB (transactions). MySQL is changing so quickly that this book will soon need an update.

Most of the other MySQL books aren't really MySQL centered-they use it as the backend for a language (like PHP or perhaps it's a CGI book that has a chapter or two on dbs, and they use MySQL). This is the *definative* book on the db-the stamp of approval from the create mind behind MySQLAB (...) is on it.

This book has a little bit for everyone. If you wanted to just wet your appetite, you really don't need much more than the tutorial and the PHP chapter. With these two-you can pretty write a web-based app immediately.

Once you want to tune and optimize your application, you better check out the chapters that deal with the details of queries and indexing-the guts of the MySQL SQL. Also, the Perl chapter gives you a more robust language than PHP, and the C chapter gives you something if you want a blazing fast app.

Finally there are the administration chapters-they give you background on the admin tasks.

One suggestion I'd give though, make sure you read the MySQL docs. They're pretty good about details. Also, for PHP-get the PHP docs, the MySQL functions are really handy. If you want to use perl, get the Perl DBI book from O'reilly-I found it indispensable.

This is without a doubt the best MySQL book I've read. It covers everything from the basic beginnings of creating tables and choosing data values, thorough advanced table selecting and administration of mysql. It even covers Perl, C, and PHP DBIs for using MySQL in your programming applications. The book is thorough, well-written, and easy to follow without being to basic.

MySQL is an excellent reference and how-to manual for the MySQL database. All information is presented in a logical manner and even obscure information can easily be located via an excellent index and table of contents. Sections on user management and administration were especially helpful as were the language specific sections on PHP, Perl, C, and more. When I work with MySQL this book is right there with me.

Having had some database experience I found the book to be very good at explaining the various facets of MySql in a simple and easy to understand manner. You can use the examples in the book to perform the various commands with ease. Well written.

This is the best MySQL book you can find. I found it a very complete reference. Also the Query Optimization part is very useful. It also tells you what MySQL can do and what MySQL can not do, so you can make the right choice of database depends on your projects before you start to use MySQL. You can use this book even if you are a totally newbie to relational database. The only bad point from this book is, it is badly organized. They should make a simple chart for all simple commands, like delete table, change column type, rename column type, and stuff like that.

i am indonesian & my english is now well, i had read this book finish 2 months ago, i had never known about db, but from this book i got enlightenment with what is sql language, and solve currently encounter problem, why i give this book 3 stars, cause is not so good for window, most syntax are for unix, e.g. %.

after finish it mysql give me a chance to learn oracle giant db for future use, i hope not to learn open-source program again in future coming, not including perl,php.

I shopped long and hard before finally [got] MySQL by Paul DuBois. I considered several others before finally settling on this one, and I am happy to say that I made the right decision.

This book offers complete coverage of MySQL, as well as thorough references to the C, Perl, and PHP MySQL API's.

I bought this book a week a go and I am still reading it. So far, I find it's a very thorough and good introduction to the topic. It is a perfect book for MySQL beginner since it's provide a tutorial on howto interact with MySQL server using comand line and programming language. The main languages that this book focus are C, PHP and perl. This book is also good as a reference. It got 200 something pages appendixes starting from How to install MySQL until PHP function reference. My only complain with the book is that it uses a database sample called samp_db which I could not find where to get it.

I found out I really like database programming. This book helped me learn it.

The first section is a tutorial dedicated to those who know nothing about database programming. I found Paul's style to be relaxing and easy to understand. The next parts are explanations on how to make MySQL work with CGI and PHP. I am using CGI for my website, and I thought the CGI section was good, if almost "too" informative. (If you want a good MySQL/CGI quick reference book, check out CGI 101.)

All in all, a good book for those who are starting from scratch on MySQL, or even those who are transferring from another database program.

This is a great book, but it should have more detail on PHP/MySQL optimization

This is book cannot be recommended highly enough if you are developing applications using MySQL. In several months on my bookshelf, it has not failed to answer any question that has arisen in the course of my work. Of the books I keep at my workplace it is the most often borrowed by my co-workers. It is comprehensive and clear in explination. The only nit I have to pick with it is the text styles used - I prefer more use of bold text to highlight section headings.

This is a book that should be on every MySQL users desk because it provides great references of every aspect of the database for the advanced users and yet still guides the beginner through the initial stages of making your first MySQL database. I have been using this book for several months now and have found it to be a great time saver when I just need to reference something that has slipped my mind. It also covers the Perl, C, and PHP API's which is a big help. I have mainly used the section on the PHP which tends to be a little light, but then again if you are looking to use PHP you should get a PHP book.

Very well written & is best treatment of MySQL I have seen. As an added bonus the chapters on the Perl DBI and PHP make it an excellent tutorial on those interfaces as well. Worth every penny!

This book is very well written and fills a gap among MySQL users for good printed documentation. As the book becomes more popular, it will expand the use of MySQL. My only suggestion would be that copies of the examples and any errata should be posted on a web site.

This is an excellent text that should be used as an example by other text book authors. Its detail is moderated by its excellent index and contents which has resulted in my using it almost every day since I bought it.

Why not five stars? I could use a little more detail on underlying reasons and how-tos and a little better highlighting in the text to bring out examples etc.

This book serves as a great reference and a good introductory text as well.
The fourth edition is supposed to be released soon so it's probably worth waiting for it.

I recommend owning this book along with High Performance MySQL.

This book has been invaluable to me, and although I have my gripes against the tedium of some of this book, overall it's become a permanent member of my web design shelf. Having this book on hand has allowed me to dive into the dark realms of PHP message boards and wikis and come out with my own server-based applications.

DuBois book is quite a well written book for Mysql beginners. Highly recommended!!

Although I had experience with MySQL before reading this book, the format was a bit daunting at first. I think that the book has some great arcane tips and tricks and really breaks down MySQL to a level that anyone can understand (given a little prior programming or internet experience). My only complaint is that while the several chapters devoted to C, PHP, and Perl interacting with MySQL was a good idea, I think that those subjects deserve separate texts in their own right and could not be fully covered in only a chapter or two. They do though, provide a good jumping point for anyone looking to use those languages with MySQL. Overall, a solid reference text which could use some work.

This book have a very understandable language.
Covers all aspects of MySQL and have particular attention on details that are usualy forgothen by authors (how to choose a column datatype, index or not a column, what kind of advantages and advantages for using any of the options).
Fantastic.

This is a well structured manual that makes it easy to get up and running quickly and with confidence. It covers probably everything you need to know through at least the intermediate MySQL DBA level. I highly recommend it.

Out of about 30 technical books of mine, ranging from programming to UNIX/Linux, this book easily comes out on top. I completed a 6 month part time course in database administration using MySQL, and i can honestly say i learned more and had a better understanding of MySQL from reading this book than what i learned during the course. The book is very well written and easy to understand, not boring (which is important), and easily one of the best technical books ever written. It's just too bad the author hasn't written more technical books *hint*.

Would've purchased the book full price, is very much well worth it. Although it lacks a bit in query construction, it is overall the best installation/administration/programming guide on MySQL that I've come across. Hope they come out with a MySQL SQL programming and optimization guide...:).

MySQL is a wonderful database management system, and this book is the perfect complement to it. As a professional database administrator, I refer to this book nearly every day. With the combination of this book, and one of the many fine PHP references available, you'll be able to set up a solid, working, Web-based database system in a matter of days to weeks.

I could have kicked myself when I found out how much time I wasted before I bought this book. You can quickly and easily find what you are looking for. It is very indepth if you want more then a quick answer. It is well-organized. It is thorough. Now if I could only find a PHP book that was written as well as this one!

This is -the- authoritative mySQL book out there. Clearly written, everything you need to know is in here, including detailed treatment of the C, PHP, and perl APIs (the reason I bought the book).

-Highly- recommended to anyone working with mySQL.

This is one fantastic book for those of you who work with MySQL or administer systems using it. It's not for those who really don't know any SQL whatsoever (you should look elsewhere if you want to learn SQL per se), but more for those people who already know the syntax and just need a reference on administering MySQL.

It's been a great help to me. I highly recommend it....

This is, without a doubt, the only MySQL book that you will ever need. It starts out with an incredibly understandable introduction for newbies to databases. Not only is it the best introduction to MySQL, it is also the best reference. Spend the money for this one, because it is the only one you will ever need for MySQL! Paul Dubois did an incredible job!

I am very impressed with this book. I bought it shortly after I bought "Professional PHP Programming." It covers everything you need to know about MySQL including administration, interfacing with c++,perl, and php. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in PHP/MySQL developement.

As a journeyman programmer (I'm actually a Reference Librarian) within one day I was able to use this book to have the Apache(1.3.9)-MySQL(3.22.27)-PHP(4.0.0) trio up and running successfully. I could not have done it without this book. (FYI, I'm running a turnkey full installation of TurboLinux Workstation 6.0 on a low-end pentium with 32mb of RAM.) The subject matter is complex, but this book is thorough. You'll still have to slog through a lot, do some minor troubleshooting, and generally pay attention. But ... all the necessary information is available and explained in this work. My geek librarian colleagues are jealous that I own this book!

I have been trying to come up with the correct solution for my home website and have found that (after trying Enhydra App Server with MySQL and some other solutions) MySQL is by far the best. And this book is a must have! I highly recommend it for folks looking to learn a great database that's fast and free. Look at PHP too, as it's a great addition to MySQL.