MySQL, an open source database, has become one of the most popular server software packages. Its developers have provided a rich range of features in a database engine that requires very modest memory and CPU support. Consequently, a huge number of Linux and Unix servers (along with some Windows servers) use MySQL as their database engine. Because it is particularly fast and convenient as a back-end to a web site, MySQL provides the M in the popular term LAMP (for Linux, Apache, MySQL, and Peri, Python, or PHP). Attention to standards has made it easy to move between MySQL and more feature-loaded databases such as open source PostgreSQL or the commercial Oracle and Sybase databases. This book is comprehensive and practical, covering basic information for new database administrators and programmers along with advanced material on security, optimization, and program design. Both tutorial and reference information is included. This edition retains the best features of the first edition, while adding the latest information about MySQL 4.0.1 and the relevant programming language interfaces.

Major topics are:
• Installation, configuration, and initial database administration
• SQL, including some complexities of sorting and joining
• Database design, with a step-by-step illustration of good relational techniques
• Optimization, including tricks to improve transaction performance, as well as discussions of when indexes are worthwhile to use and how to handle indexes covering multiple fields
• Security, including the value of assigning roles to people who work with the database, and how to make the best use of MySQL\'s user management to emulate the commercial databases\' support for roles
• C programming, along with how to add your own user-defined functions (UDFs)\'and character sets
• Peri programming with the DBI modules, with examples of integrating MySQL with web CGI programs and using an object-oriented framework for maintainable applications
• PHP scripting, with practical considerations for avoiding race conditions and security problems on the Web
• An evaluation of, and guide to, using the Python DB-API
• Java programming in a database-independent and portable manner