Ben Forta

MySQL Crash Course

MySQL Crash Course

ISBN: 0672327120

Pages: 256

Publisher: Sams – December 15, 2005

This title is out of date, and has been replaced by MySQL Crash Course (2nd Edition).

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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 it, 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.
  • While 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 like 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 Ten 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 30 highly focused lessons designed to make you immediately and effortlessly productive.

Is this book right for you? This is a beginner-intermediate book, and is not intended for SQL or MySQL experts. 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.

If you want to invest minimal time (and cost) for a crash course on one of the most important DBMSs out there, then this book is indeed for you.

Note: This title covers MySQL 4.x and 5, and several chapters are only applicable to MySQL 5 and are noted as such in the text).

Chapter listing

  • Introduction
  • 1: Understanding SQL
  • 2: Introducing MySQL
  • 3: Working With MySQL
  • 4: Retrieving Data
  • 5: Sorting Retrieved Data
  • 6: Filtering Data
  • 7: Advanced Data Filtering
  • 8: Using Wildcard Filtering
  • 9: Searching Using Regular Expressions
  • 10: Creating Calculated Fields
  • 11: Using Data Manipulation Functions
  • 12: Summarizing Data
  • 13: Grouping Data
  • 14: Working with Subqueries
  • 15: Joining Tables
  • 16: Creating Advanced Joins
  • 17: Combining Queries
  • 18: Full Text Searching
  • 19: Inserting Data
  • 20: Updating and Deleting Data
  • 21: Creating and Manipulating Tables
  • 22: Using Views
  • 23: Working with Stored Procedures
  • 24: Using Cursors
  • 25: Using Triggers
  • 26: Managing Transaction Processing
  • 27: Globalization and Localization
  • 28: Managing Security
  • 29: Database Maintenance
  • 30: Improving Performance
  • Appendix A: Getting Started With MySQL
  • Appendix B: The Example Tables
  • Appendix C: MySQL Statement Syntax
  • Appendix D: MySQL Datatypes
  • Appendix E: MySQL Reserved Words

Translations

Supporting Resources

Appendix B: The Example Tables

Appendix B: The Example Tables describes the database tables used in the examples in this book. You may download creation and population scripts here: