Hour 7. Learning Basic SQL Commands

This hour takes a break from all that PHP you've been learning and provides a primer on SQL syntax, which you will use to create and manipulate your MySQL database tables. This is a very hands-on hour, and it assumes that you are able to issue queries through the MySQL monitor on Windows or Linux/Unix. Alternatively, if you use a GUI to MySQL, this hour assumes you know the methods for issuing queries through those interfaces.

In this hour, you will learn

• The basic MySQL data types

• How to use the CREATE TABLE command to create a table

• How to use the INSERT command to enter records

• How to use the SELECT command to retrieve records

• How to use basic functions, the WHERE clause, and the GROUP BY clause in SELECT expressions

• How to select from multiple tables, using JOIN

• How to use the UPDATE and REPLACE commands to modify existing records

• How to use the DELETE command to remove records