MySQL Cookbook Second Edition

Timesaving Recipes for Database Developers and DBAs

At first take, MySQL lacks the glamour surrounding sexy Web 2.0
technologies. It is, after all, a database. But in fact, it serves as the
backbone for much of what we see and use online, and as such-though lacking in
sexiness-makes up for it in sturdiness, power, and flexibility. This explains
why it’s giving the two top deployed databases a run for their money, holding
its own with millions of active MySQL installations, and tens of thousands of
downloads per day.

Both experienced MySQL users and those dealing with their first installation
have one thing in common: they face everyday programming dilemmas and data
manipulation challenges that slow them down. These database developers and DBAs
will find the answers they need in the new, second edition of MySQL Cookbook
(O’Reilly) by Paul Dubois. “The book doesn’t attempt to develop full-fledged,
complex applications,” says Dubois. “Instead, it assists you in developing
applications yourself by helping you get past problems that have you stumped.”
The book provides a wealth of recipes including how to access data from multiple
tables at the same time, find matches or mismatches between rows in two tables,
store images into MySQL and retrieve them for display in web pages, and much
more. “Readers won’t just find code, though,” notes Dubois. “They’ll get the
explanations of how and why the code works so they can adapt the techniques to
other similar situations.”

Highlights:
” Serves as a timesaving resource that users can turn to when they need quick
solutions or techniques for attacking particular types of questions that arise
when using MySQL.
” Updated to cover MySQL 5.0/5.1 and its powerful new features, along with the
older (but still widespread) MySQL 4.1.
” Shows ways of formulating queries with SQL using the mysql client program and
methods for writing programs that interact with the MySQL server through an API.
” Includes many new examples for using Perl, Python, Java, and even Ruby (using
the Ruby DBI module) to retrieve and display data.
” Also updated to include subqueries, views, stored routines, triggers, and
events.

“Many people sense how powerful a tool MySQL is, but don’t have a lot of
training to draw on when faced with common database-related tasks,” says Dubois.
“This book provides the how-to that will enable them to solve problems and
exploit MySQL more fully.”

Paul Dubois was one of the first contributors to the online MySQL Reference
Manual, the documentation project that supported administrators and developers
in the opening years of MySQL in the late 1990s. He’s written several books on
MySQL, including the first edition of MySQL Cookbook.