Chapter 1: Quickstart to MySQL

Overview

So, you've obtained a copy of this book. Some of you may be competent with MySQL already and want to dive into the murky waters of database replication or optimizing the server variables. If you're an advanced user, feel free to jump ahead. This chapter is not for you. But beginners need not worry. This book also contains everything you need to get started and eventually become an advanced user.

MySQL is the world's most popular open-source database. Open source means that the source code, the programming code that makes up MySQL, is freely available to anyone. People all over the world can add to MySQL, fix bugs, make improvements, or suggest optimizations. And they do. MySQL has developed from being a "toy" database a few years ago into a grown-up version 4, having overtaken many commercial databases along the way—and terrified most of the other database manufacturers. It's grown so quickly because of the countless dedicated people who have contributed to the project in some way, as well as the dedication of the MySQL team.

Unlike proprietary projects, where the source code is written by a few people and carefully guarded, open-source projects exclude no one who is interested in contributing if they are competent enough. In 2000 when MySQL was a young upstart of four years old, Michael "Monty" Widenius, the founder of MySQL, predicted big things for MySQL as he attended the first-ever open-source database convention. Many established database vendors scoffed at the time. Some of those vendors are no longer around.

With version 3, MySQL dominated the low end of the Internet market. And with MySQL's release of version 4, the product is now appealing to a much wider range of customers. With the open-source Apache dominating the web server market and various open-source operating systems (such as Linux and FreeBSD) performing strongly in the server market, MySQL's time has come in the database market.

Featured in this chapter:

• Essential database concepts and terminology

• Connecting to and disconnecting from MySQL server

• Creating and dropping databases

• Creating, updating, and dropping tables

• Adding data into a table

• Returning data and deleting data from a table

• Understanding basic statistical and date functions

• Joining more than one table