MySQL Crash Course [Paperback]

Ben Forta (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 22, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0672327120 | ISBN-13: 978-0672327124

MySQL is one of the most popular database management systems available, powering everything from Internet powerhouses to individual corporate databases to simple end-user applications, and everything in between. And this book will teach you all you need to know to be immediately productive with MySQL. By working through 30 highly focused hands-on lessons, your MySQL Crash Course will be both easier and more effective than you'd have thought possible. Learn how to:

• Retrieve and sort data
• Filter data using comparisons, regular expressions, full text search, and much more
• Join relational data
• Create and alter tables
• Insert, update, and delete data
• Leverage the power of stored procedures and triggers
• Use views and Cursors
• Manage transactional processing
• Create user accounts and manage security via access control

Ben Forta is Macromedia's Senior Technical Evangelist, and has almost 20 years of experience in the computer industry in product development, support, training, and product marketing. Ben is the author of the best-selling Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes (now in its third edition, and translated into over a dozen languages), ColdFusion Web Application Construction Kit, and Advanced ColdFusion Development (both published by Que Publishing), Sams Teach Yourself Regular Expressions in 10 Minutes, as well as books on SQL, Flash, JSP, HomeSite, WAP, Windows 2000, and other subjects.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ben Forta is Macromedia Corporation's product evangelist for the ColdFusion product line. Ben has over 15 years of experience in the computer industry, and spent 6 years as part of the development team responsible for creating OnTime, one of the most successful calendar and group-scheduling products, with over one million users worldwide. Ben is the author of the popular ColdFusion Web Application Construction Kit, and its sequel Advanced ColdFusion 4 Application Development. His book Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes is one of the world's bestselling SQL books with over 100,000 copies sold.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

MySQL has become one of the most popular database management systems in the world. From small development projects to some of the best-known and most prestigious sites on the Web, MySQL has proven itself to be a solid, reliable, fast, and trusted solution to all sorts of data storage needs.

This book is based on my best-selling Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes. That book has become one of the most-used SQL tutorials in the world, with an emphasis on teaching what you really need to know—methodically, systematically, and simply. But as popular and as successful as that book is, it does have some limitations:

• In covering all of the major DBMSs, coverage of DBMS-specific features and functionality had to be kept to a minimum.

• To simplify the SQL taught, the lowest common denominator had to be found—SQL statements that would (as much as possible) work with all major DBMSs. This requirement necessitated that better DBMS-specific solutions not be covered.

• Although basic SQL tends to be rather portable between DBMSs, more advanced SQL most definitely is not. As such, that book could not cover advanced topics, such as triggers, cursors, stored procedures, access control, transactions, and more, in any real detail.

And that is where this book comes in. MySQL Crash Course builds on the proven tutorials and structure of Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes, without getting bogged down with anything but MySQL. Starting with simple data retrieval and working on to more complex topics, including the use of joins, subqueries, regular expression and full text-based searches, stored procedures, cursors, triggers, table constraints, and much more. You'll learn what you need to know methodically, systematically, and simply—in highly focused chapters designed to make you immediately and effortlessly productive.

So turn to Chapter 1, and get to work. You'll be taking advantage of all MySQL has to offer in no time at all.

Who Is This Book For?

This book is for you if

• You are new to SQL.

• You are just getting started with MySQL and want to hit the ground running.

• You want to quickly learn how to get the most out of MySQL.

• You want to learn how to use MySQL in your own application development.

• You want to be productive quickly and easily using MySQL without having to call someone for help.

Companion Website

This book has a companion website online at http://forta.com/books/0672327120/. Visit the site to access

• Table creation and population scripts used to create the example tables used throughout this book

• Visit the online support forum

• Access online errata (should one be required)

• Find other books that may be of interest to you

Conventions Used in This Book

This book uses different typefaces to differentiate between code and regular English, and also to help you identify important concepts.

Text that you type and text that should appear on your screen is presented in monospace type. It looks like this to mimic the way text looks on your screen.

Placeholders for variables and expressions appear in monospace italic font. You should replace the placeholder with the specific value it represents.

This arrow (¬) at the beginning of a line of code means that a single line of code is too long to fit on the printed page. Continue typing all the characters after the ¬ as though they were part of the preceding line.

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Note - A Note presents interesting pieces of information related to the surrounding discussion.

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Tip - A Tip offers advice or teaches an easier way to do something.

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Caution - A Caution advises you about potential problems and helps you steer clear of disaster.

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Note - A New Term box provide clear definitions of new, essential terms.

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/Input

The Input icon identifies code that you can type in yourself. It usually appears next to a listing.

/Output

The Output icon highlights the output produced by running MySQL code. It usually appears after a listing.

/Analysis

The Analysis icon alerts you to the author's line-by-line analysis of input or output.

© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Sams Publishing (December 22, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0672327120
• ISBN-13: 978-0672327124
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #67,524 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > Computers & Technology > Databases > MySQL

More About the Author

Ben Forta is Adobe Inc.'s Senior Technical Evangelist, and has over two decades of experience in the computer industry in product development, support, training, and marketing. Ben is the author of the best-selling ColdFusion Web Application Construction Kit and its sequel Advanced ColdFusion Application Development, as well as books on SQL, Regular Expressions, JavaServer Pages, WAP, Windows development, and more. Over 1/2 million Ben Forta books have been printed in a dozen languages worldwide. Ben co-authored the official ColdFusion training material, as well as the certification tests and official study guides for those tests, writes regular columns on ColdFusion and Internet development, and now spends a considerable amount of time lecturing and speaking on application development worldwide.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 50 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book For Beginners March 6, 2006

By Michael Hillyer

Format:Paperback

I've previously stated that I am glad to see good books on advanced MySQL usage appearing such as Pro MySQL, High Performance MySQL and the like. Well, now there is a book that makes be glad to see good books for beginners: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?link_code=as3&path=ASIN/0672327120&tag=vbmysqlcom-20&camp=211189&creative=373489">MySQL Crash Course by Ben Forta</a>.

While experienced MySQL users should steer clear of this book, MySQL Crash Course is an excellent book for the beginner. It starts right from the basics, talking about what a database is, what SQL is, what MySQL is, then hits the ground running talking about constructing queries, sorting, using functions, etc.

The book has a good, easy to read format for each section that discusses the purpose of the section, shows a sample query, its output, and an analysis. The book wisely hides the advanced details not relevant to the beginner (such as no discussion of isolation levels in the section on transactions, just the basics of BEGIN, COMMIT, ROLLBACK, etc) and sticks to the facts for the version it is targeted against (MySQL 5.0, with sections on triggers and stored procedures).

It was nice to see that the book even covers areas such as the aforementioned stored procedures and triggers, along with views and basic maintenance and performance tuning sections.

All in all, MySQL Crash Course by Ben Forta looks like an excellent book for the beginning users just getting started with MySQL and perhaps SQL in general.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply the Best February 16, 2006

By Gateone Gmbh

Format:Paperback

Anyone who wants to understand MySQL MUST buy this book. Even if you're not the hard core programmer, but - like me - just "heavy uses" PHP/MySQL apps like the great "Drupal" CMS (http://www.drupal.org)! I have had quite some books on SQL, but this is the best introduction ever. Most books tend to be quite heavy on the reader, especially if you have to get to know MySQL while at the same time being busy with your every day job. This one however I started reading on a half hour plane ride, and finished off at night in front of the TV and in just that one single day I had found the key to MySQL! Go buy it!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Great for databases in general, falls apart on administrivia August 20, 2008

By M. Sharps

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you are fairly familiar with the concept of a database, this book could very well be all you need to get going. My issue with it is that it skimps on some of the very basic stuff. For example, it never goes over the syntax of the create call for creating a database, doesn't explain calling mysql at the command prompt as a particular user, gives you 11 chapters on manipulating data before showing you how to create a table, waits for chapter 28 to mention administering users, and puts datatypes in the appendix. These are the first things I wanted to learn. By the time I was done googling these concepts, I got pretty good at mySql and knew where to find better resources. At that point, the book became a very light reference.