Core MySQL [Paperback]

Leon Atkinson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Core | Publication Date: December 15, 2001

Core MySQL gives professionals exactly what they've been searching for: an authoritative, thorough, example-rich guide to enterprise-class MySQL application development. Thoroughly reviewed by MySQL lead developer Michael Widenous, the book starts with the fundamentals of MySQL, then systematically reviews each key feature, and offers in-depth coverage of interacting with MySQL databases directly, from several leading programming environments. Expert open source Web developer and best-selling Core PHP author Leon Atkinson walks through installing and configuring MySQL, and offers a detailed introduction to the capabilities and limitations of MySQL's SQL implementation. Atkinson introduces MySQL data types, variables, column types, built-in functions, queries, database design, normalization, transactions, and concurrency. Core MySQL includes in-depth coverage of application optimization; security; distributed database development; administration, backup, and recovery. Atkinson demonstrates how to extending MySQL's functionality; and even presents database design techniques that make it easier to migrate MySQL databases to other platforms if that becomes necessary. The book also includes full chapters on interacting with MySQL from C, Java, PHP, Perl, Python, and other leading programming environments. For all experienced developers seeking an effective, low-cost, open source solution for Web database development.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The comprehensive, code-rich MySQL guide for expert developers.

• Contains in-depth explanations and example code for designing and building enterprise-level systems
• Includes advanced coverage of security, data storage, optimization, distributed databases, and other complex topics
• Presented by leading open-source expert Leon Atkinson—author of the best-selling Core PHP Programming

Experienced developers worldwide are choosing MySQL as a low-cost, open-source foundation for their key Web applications. Now, here's a book that gives them all the code and insight they need to build enterprise-class MySQL applications—fast.

Core MySQL starts by introducing the fundamentals of MySQL: SQL queries, database design, normalization, transactions, and concurrency. It then systematically reviews each of MySQL's most important features, and presents efficient techniques for interacting with MySQL databases directly from C, Java, PHP, Perl, Python, and other programming environments. Coverage includes:

• Installing and interacting with MySQL—including a detailed introduction to MySQL's SQL implementation
• Data types, variables, column types, built-in functions, and command-line utilities
• Comprehensive coverage of using MySQL's C API
• MySQL administration, backup, and disaster recovery
• Application optimization and security
• Distributed database development
• Extending MySQL with added functionality
• Building databases that can be transitioned to other database platforms

Thoroughly reviewed by MySQL lead developer Michael Widenius, Core MySQL gives professionals exactly what they've been searching for: an authoritative, thorough, example-rich guide to enterprise-class MySQL application development.

About the Author

LEON ATKINSON is the author of Core PHP Programming and a columnist for Zend Technologies. He maintains the FreeTrade project, an e-commerce toolkit that uses MySQL and PHP. Atkinson has utilized MySQL for a wide range of Web and e-commerce applications since discovering it in 1997.

Reviewed and endorsed by Michael Widenius, the developer of MySQL.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 752 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR; 1st edition (December 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130661902
• ISBN-13: 978-0130661906
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,294,978 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fine reference book. But only covers basics, July 2, 2002

By 

Juntao Yuan (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Core MySQL (Paperback)

If you are new to both the SQL language and MySQL database, this is the book
for you. Or if you are a MySQL developer wanting to have a desk reference of
SQL statements, MySQL command line utility usages and MySQL data access APIs,
this book can also serve you. But if you are a seasoned developer wanting to
learn special tricks and techniques in administrating and managing MySQL
database servers, this book will be a disappointment. One of the major
weaknesses of this book is the lack of well thought of, ready to use examples.

The book started from a general introduction to what is database powered
applications and various types of databases. The author also discussed how
relational database and the SQL query language fit into the big picture. But
most of this stuff is well known to developers with proper computer science
background.

Then the author spend more than 150 pages documenting MySQL references such as
data types and SQL statements usages. Those references are readily available
from the MySQL online documentation or any other decent SQL text books. The
next two chapters in this section addresses MySQL command line utilities for
database administration and the C API for MySQL internal functions. The author
could have given handy examples on how to use those utilities and APIs in real
world applications. But instead, the book copied from MySQL documentation and
made itself only a reference book.

Part 3 of the book addressed how to access MySQL from outside applications.
The author discussed APIs for C, Java, VB/ODBC, PHP, Perl, Python and MySQL++.
But for each language, there is only "Hello World" type of introductions.
For readers who want to use those APIs in real world applications, further
research and readings are required.

Part 4 "Advanced Topics" is probably the best section of this book. The
author discusses interesting topics such as storage formats, disaster recovery,
optimization, distributed systems and object mapping.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars MySQL and JavaBeans, March 19, 2002

By 

Jim Bodine (New Ulm, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Core MySQL (Paperback)

.... Connecting from a different machine is covered just fine in the book. A simple matter of the URL and port 3306.

The book was a great help in configuring MySQL in a J2EE environment. This is easily the best book out at this time. Looks like some other references are coming soon which may turn out to be better. However, as of this writing, I couldn't have succeeded with the JavaBean config without Core MySQL.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy and quick to understand; needs real examples, June 25, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Core MySQL (Paperback)

It is very good at covering the "core" of MySQL and gives an introduction to relational databases in general (the relational model, SQL, normalization, etc.).

My personal opinion is that Atkinson should have assumed the reader was already familiar with the relational model and spent more book space on MySQL. Atkinson's info on relational databases is decent but lacks depth and takes away space that could be used to give real examples of the uses of MySQL.

I'm giving this book a five star because I feel the other reviewers were unfair.