Chapter 2. Getting ConnectedPutting Your Database on the Web

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Chapter 2. Getting Connected Putting Your Database on the Web

This chapter introduces the fundamental concepts involved in putting your database on the Web so that you can begin writing and using Web scripts that access MySQL. It deals with techniques on which everything else in the book is built, showing you how to get up and running to do some basic things. For less-experienced readers, it also doubles as a tutorial by providing exposure to concepts you ll need for understanding the material in the following chapters. If you ve already been building Web sites, you just may want to skim through to verify that you re familiar with the chapter s material and to acquaint yourself with the conventions used in the book. You can expect to learn the following things in this chapter:

• Basic MySQL and Apache configuration

• General principles involved in writing Perl scripts

• Using DBI from Perl scripts for connecting to the MySQL server and issuing queries

• Using CGI.pm to generate Web pages from Perl scripts

• Putting DBI and CGI.pm together to link MySQL to the Web

• Using Web forms for record entry, editing, and searching

• Error-handling and debugging techniques

• How to put often-used code in a library file

This chapter provides enough information to get you started, and in fact, you ll learn enough to establish a basic Web presence. But the material here really is just a beginning, and later chapters expand on many of the topics. For example, this chapter does not discuss security a great deal, but security is a requirement, not an option. You d be making a big mistake to think otherwise, and you really shouldn t put sensitive data anywhere near the Web before you ve read Chapter 9, Security and Privacy Issues.

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