Before getting any further into database coding, it will be good practice to call upon the PHP command of include.

The first part of server connection, database selection, and table selection is a repeated snippit, so to save time and effort, we'll put that part into a seperate file and just call it into play when we need it.

**db_connect.inc**

<Code
  language="php"
  text={`<?php

// set your infomation.
$dbhost='localhost';
$dbusername='david';
$dbuserpass='mypassword';
$dbname='test';

// connect to the mysql database server.
$link_id = mysql_connect ($dbhost, $dbusername, $dbuserpass);

// select the specific database name we want to access.
$dbname=$dbusername."_".$dbname;
if (!mysql_select_db($dbname)) die(mysql_error());

?>`}
/>

The PHP command to call that section of code into action:

<Code
  language="php"
  text={`include ("db_connect.inc");`}
/>

Learn about the php command "include" and how it's used to connect to a MySQL database.

Include

Once you have your table data organized, the next step is to figure out the data type. There are three main types: **text, numbers, and Dates/Times**. Choosing the column types specifies what information can or can't be stored in a table cell. Using the most correct option for each column is important as it may affect the database's overall performance.

## Text Types
* **CHAR( )**: A fixed section from 0 to 255 characters long.
* **VARCHAR( )**: A variable section from 0 to 255 characters long.
* **TINYTEXT**: A string with a maximum length of 255 characters.
* **TEXT**: A string with a maximum length of 65535 characters.
* **BLOB**: A string with a maximum length of 65535 characters.
* **MEDIUMTEXT**: A string with a maximum length of 16777215 characters.
* **MEDIUMBLOB**: A string with a maximum length of 16777215 characters.
* **LONGTEXT**: A string with a maximum length of 4294967295 characters.
* **LONGBLOB**: A string with a maximum length of 4294967295 characters.

The ( ) brackets allow you to enter a maximum number of characters will be used in the column.

<Code
  language="sql"
  text={`VARCHAR(20)`}
/>

CHAR and VARCHAR are the most widely used types. CHAR is a fixed length string and is mainly used when the data is not going to vary much in it's length. VARCHAR is a variable length string and is mainly used when the data may vary in length.

CHAR may be faster for the database to process considering the fields stay the same length down the column. VARCHAR may be a bit slower as it calculates each field down the column, but it saves on memory space. Which one to ultimately use is up to you.

Using both a CHAR and VARCHAR option in the same table, MySQL will automatically change the CHAR into VARCHAR for compatibility reasons.

BLOB stands for Binary Large OBject. Both TEXT and BLOB are variable length types that store large amounts of data. They are similar to a larger version of VARCHAR. These types can store a large piece of data information, but they are also processed much slower.

## Number Types
* **TINYINT( )**: -128 to 127 normal
0 to 255 UNSIGNED.
* **SMALLINT( )**: -32768 to 32767 normal
0 to 65535 UNSIGNED.
* **MEDIUMINT( )**: -8388608 to 8388607 normal
0 to 16777215 UNSIGNED.
* **INT( )**: -2147483648 to 2147483647 normal
0 to 4294967295 UNSIGNED.
* **BIGINT( )**: -9223372036854775808 to 9223372036854775807 normal
0 to 18446744073709551615 UNSIGNED.
* **FLOAT**: A small number with a floating decimal point.
* **DOUBLE( , )**: A large number with a floating decimal point.
* **DECIMAL( , )**: A DOUBLE stored as a string , allowing for a fixed decimal point.

The integer types have an extra option called UNSIGNED. Normally, the integer goes from a negative to positive value. Using an UNSIGNED command will move that range up so it starts at zero instead of a negative number.

## Date Types
* **DATE**: YYYY-MM-DD.
*. **DATETIME**: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.
* **TIMESTAMP**: YYYYMMDDHHMMSS.
* **TIME**: HH:MM:SS.

## Misc Types
* **ENUM ( )**:  Short for ENUMERATION which means that each column may have one of a specified possible values.
* **SET**: Similar to ENUM except each column may have more than one of the specified possible values.

ENUM is short for ENUMERATED list. This column can only store one of the values that are declared in the specified list contained in the ( ) brackets.

<Code
  language="sql"
  text={`ENUM('y','n')`}
/>

You can list up to 65535 values in an ENUM list. If a value is inserted that is not in the list, a blank value will be inserted.

SET is similar to ENUM except SET may contain up to 64 list items and can store more than one choice.

Learn about all the various data types that can be used in and are supported by MySQL.

Data Types

Many people refer to a database as a "relational" database. More than one table is in relation to another table. Two smaller pieces of information that make a whole when combined.

There are going to be times when you will want to take a bit of information from two (or more) tables with a certain criteria. Using an address book for example, you may have one table of friends and another table of how much money they owe you. You can set the criteria to find a specific criteria that appears in both tables and produce the results. You are "joining" the information from both tables to create a full result.

A popular join is called the INNER JOIN.

<Code
  language="php"
  text={`$sql = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM phone, owes WHERE phone.first_name=owes.first_name");

while ($row = mysql_fetch_row($sql)) {
echo "$row[0] $row [1] $row[2] $row[3] <br />";
}`}
/>

The above example will compares or joins the two tables PHONE and OWES. It will look in the column called FIRST_NAME in the PHONE table and it will look in the column called FIRST_NAME in the OWES table. If any information matches in those two columns in the seperate tables, it will be put into the results.

In total, there are 4 columns of information being looked at. The above example is printing out all of the columns just to show which information is being passed into the results. You may choose exactly which data to use and display as required for a real application.

The important part of an INNER join is that if no matches are found, no results are created.

Another form of join is called the LEFT JOIN. It behaves in the same way as the inner join, but it will produce extra results if there is a match in one table but not the other.

<Code
  language="php"
  text={`$sql = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM phone LEFT JOIN owes ON phone.first_name=owes.first_name");
while ($row = mysql_fetch_row($sql)) {
echo "$row[0] $row[1] $row[2] $row[3]<br />";
}`}
/>

The comma between the table names have been replaced by the words LEFT JOIN. The word WHERE has been replaced by the word ON.

During an inner join, only records matching in both tables would be placed into the results. During a left join, all of the records of the first table will be placed into the results. If the records match in the second table, they will be added into the results otherwise a NULL result will be added.

Learn about how to use SQL joins in MySQL.

Joins

Doing a search through data is easy enough when the equations produce a definite yes or no situation. There may be times though you will want to perform a more general search.

The **LIKE** and **NOT LIKE** have two search helper symbols. The underscore _ character that looks for one character and the percentage % character that looks for zero or more characters.

<Code
  language="php"
  text={`$sql = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE columnname LIKE value%");

while ($row = mysql_fetch_row($sql)) {
echo "$row[0] $row[1] $row[2] <br />";
}`}
/>

The query will only pick out the rows that provide a TRUE result according to the WHERE equation. The equation will equal the LIKE VALUE plus some possible extra characters afterwards. Example...

<Code
  language="php"
  text={`$sql = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM address_book WHERE last_name LIKE 'Stan%'");

while ($row = mysql_fetch_row($sql)) {
echo "$row[0] $row[1] $row[2] <br />";
}`}
/>

The query would search the address_book table and compare all of the data in the last_name column for any values starting with 'Stan' and ending with zero or more characters afterwards. The LIKE search is not case sensitive, so it will accept anything starting with 'stan' as well. The WHILE loop then prints out the results found if both equations are found TRUE.

Queries using the LIKE or NOT LIKE parameters may be a bit slower than a normal query search considering they are a broader value and do not take advantage of any indexing.

The underscore and percentage characters (also known as wildcard characters) can be used in front, at the end, or both ends of a value.

If you want to have an underscore or percentage character actually be part of the search value, put an escape slash \ in front of the character.

The underscore wildcard can be used a number of times to find a specific number of characters. Example, this would be used in an equation to return a value of 'Stan' plus 3 characters (since there are 3 underscores)...

<Code
  language="php"
  text={`$sql = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM address_book WHERE last_name LIKE 'Stan___'");

while ($row = mysql_fetch_row($sql)) {
echo "$row[0] $row[1] $row[2] <br />";
}`}
/>

As you may have guessed, the NOT LIKE parameter will do the opposite of LIKE. It will produce results that are NOT LIKE the specified criteria.

Learn about how to use LIKE and NOT LIKE SQL clauses in MySQL.

LIKE and NOT LIKE

A column modifier is an extra addon command to help the database organize and work better.

As mentioned on the previous page, the integer types have an extra option called **UNSIGNED**. Normally, the integer goes from an negative to positive value. Using an UNSIGNED command will move that range up so it starts at zero instead of a negative number.

Other modifier commands are:
* INDEX
* UNIQUE
* PRIMARY KEY
* AUTO_INCREMENT
* NULL
* NOT NULL
* DEFAULT
*  BINARY
* ZEROFILL

Indexing is a way to improve a database performance. You are telling the database that THIS specific column is special and may help organize the data. If there is a column you will be referring to often, it would probably be the best to be an **INDEX** column.

An INDEX column may have more than one cell holding the same data value. The two other index types are **UNIQUE** and **PRIMARY KEY**. UNIQUE states that each cell in the column should have a unique value. PRIMARY KEY is a special variety of the UNIQUE command.

The **AUTO_INCREMENT** modifier works on any of the integer types. Each time a new row is added into the database table, the number in this column will appear and automatically increase by one from the previous row.

**NULL** is no value. It is not space, it is not zero. A majority of the time you will want to specify a field to be NOT NULL so that any blank entries will be considered as "something".

**DEFAULT** will assign a default value to a cell if nothing is entered for the value. It will work on most data types except BLOB and TEXT.

**BINARY** is used with CHAR and VARCHAR types. It causes the values to be treated as "binary strings" making them CaSe SeNsItIvE.

**ZEROFILL** is used with numeric data types. It will display leading zeros of a number based on the display width.

Column Modifiers

The **INSERT** command is used to enter new information into a database. A common way to gather information is using a form.

**form_page.php**
<Code
  language="php"
  text={`<form method="post" action="enter_it.php">
First Name : <input type="text" name="first_name" /><br />
Last Name : <input type="text" name="last_name" /><br />
Phone Number : <input type="text" name="phone_number" /><br />
<input type="submit" name="submit" value="submit" />
</form>`}
/>

Once the SUBMIT button is clicked on, the information entered will pass over to the "enter_it.php" page through the $_POST[ ] variable.

**enter_it.php**

<Code
  language="php"
  text={`<?php

// connect to server, database, table.
include ("db_connect.inc");

// add the new information into the database
$query="INSERT INTO address_book (first_name,last_name,phone_number) VALUES ('$_POST[first_name]','$_POST[last_name]','$_POST[phone_number]')";
if(!mysql_db_query($dbname,$query,$link_id)) die(mysql_error());
echo "success in database entry.";

echo "<br />";
echo "<a href=\"form_page.php\">Click here to return to the form page.</a>";
?>`}
/>

To explain the new coding snippit:

<Code
  language="php"
  text={`$query="INSERT INTO address_book (first_name,last_name,phone_number) VALUES ('$_POST[first_name]','$_POST[last_name]','$_POST[phone_number]')";`}
/>

We are using a variable $query to contain the command information we want to perform. This keeps our coding easy to maintain.

<Code
  language="php"
  text={`$query="INSERT INTO address_book (first_name,last_name,phone_number) VALUES ('$_POST[first_name]','$_POST[last_name]','$_POST[phone_number]')";`}
/>

**INSERT INTO** prepares the database for new incoming data. address_book is stating which table is going to receive the new information and what columns (by name) will be affected.

<Code
  language="php"
  text={`$query="INSERT INTO address_book (first_name,last_name,phone_number) VALUES ('$_POST[first_name]','$_POST[last_name]','$_POST[phone_number]')";`}
/>

The **VALUES** of the following variables contain the new information to be entered into the specified columns.

<Code
  language="php"
  text={`if(!mysql_db_query($dbname,$query,$link_id)) die(mysql_error());`}
/>

IF the following value is not true, the script will stop (die) and print out the error.

mysql_db_query is a command used to perform the actual insert command. it uses the database name, query command, and server link to make it all happen.

Learn about what MySQL's INSERT SQL command is and why you'd use it.

INSERT

The **WHERE** property of a query makes it possible to single out specific rows.

<Code
  language="php"
  text={`$sql = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE some equation");

while ($row = mysql_fetch_row($sql)) {
echo "$row[0] $row[1] $row[2] <br />";
}`}
/>

The query will only pick out the rows that provide a TRUE result according to the WHERE equation. Example...

<Code
  language="php"
  text={`$sql = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM address_book WHERE first_name='David'");

while ($row = mysql_fetch_row($sql)) {
echo "$row[0] $row[1] $row[2] <br />";
}`}
/>

The query would search the address_book table and compare all of the data in the first_name column for the specified value. The WHILE loop then prints out the results found.

The equation used for the WHERE property can be a large number of possibilities. You can use variables, additional equations with &&, alternative equations with ||, and so on.

Learn about how to use the WHERE SQL clause.

WHERE

Before getting to far into planning, there is a number of words that you cannot use for your table and column names. MySQL uses some specific words for command processing, so using them in your own coding may confuse things a bit.

* ADD
* ALL
* ALTER
* ANALYZE
* AND
* AS
* ASC
* ASENSITIVE
* AUTO_INCREMENT
* BDB
* BEFORE
* BERKELEYDB
* BETWEEN
* BIGINT
* BINARY
* BLOB
* BOTH
* BY
* CALL
* CASCADE
* CASE
* CHANGE
* CHAR
* CHARACTER
* CHECK
* COLLATE
* COLUMN
* COLUMNS
* CONDITION
* CONNECTION
* CONSTRAINT
* CONTINUE
* CREATE
* CROSS
* CURRENT_DATE
* CURRENT_TIME
* CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
* CURSOR
* DATABASE
* DATABASES
* DAY_HOUR
* DAY_MICROSECOND
* DAY_MINUTE
* DAY_SECOND
* DEC
* DECIMAL
* DECLARE
* DEFAULT
* DELAYED
* DELETE
* DESC
* DESCRIBE
* DETERMINISTIC
* DISTINCT
* DISTINCTROW
* DIV
* DOUBLE
* DROP
* ELSE
* ELSEIF
* ENCLOSED
* ESCAPED
* EXISTS
* EXIT
* EXPLAIN
* FALSE
* FETCH
* FIELDS
* FLOAT
* FOR
* FORCE
* FOREIGN
* FOUND
* FRAC_SECOND
* FROM
* FULLTEXT
* GRANT
* GROUP
* HAVING
* HIGH_PRIORITY
* HOUR_MICROSECOND
* HOUR_MINUTE
* HOUR_SECOND
* IF
* IGNORE
* IN
* INDEX
* INFILE
* INNER
* INNODB
* INOUT
* INSENSITIVE
* INSERT
* INT
* INTEGER
* INTERVAL
* INTO
* IO_THREAD
* IS
* ITERATE
* JOIN
* KEY
* KEYS
* KILL
* LEADING
* LEAVE
* LEFT
* LIKE
* LIMIT
* LINES
* LOAD
* LOCALTIME
* LOCALTIMESTAMP
* LOCK
* LONG
* LONGBLOB
* LONGTEXT
* LOOP
* LOW_PRIORITY
* MASTER_SERVER_ID
* MATCH
* MEDIUMBLOB
* MEDIUMINT
* MEDIUMTEXT
* MIDDLEINT
* MINUTE_MICROSECOND
* MINUTE_SECOND
* MOD
* NATURAL
* NOT
* NO_WRITE_TO_BINLOG
* NULL
* NUMERIC
* ON
* OPTIMIZE
* OPTION
* OPTIONALLY
* OR
* ORDER
* OUT
* OUTER
* OUTFILE
* PRECISION
* PRIMARY
* PRIVILEGES
* PROCEDURE
* PURGE
* READ
* REAL
* REFERENCES
* REGEXP
* RENAME
* REPEAT
* REPLACE
* REQUIRE
* RESTRICT
* RETURN
* REVOKE
* RIGHT
* RLIKE
* SECOND_MICROSECOND
* SELECT
* SENSITIVE
* SEPARATOR
* SET
* SHOW
* SMALLINT
* SOME
* SONAME
* SPATIAL
* SPECIFIC
* SQL
* SQLEXCEPTION
* SQLSTATE
* SQLWARNING
* SQL_BIG_RESULT
* SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS
* SQL_SMALL_RESULT
* SQL_TSI_DAY
* SQL_TSI_FRAC_SECOND
* SQL_TSI_HOUR
* SQL_TSI_MINUTE
* SQL_TSI_MONTH
* SQL_TSI_QUARTER
* SQL_TSI_SECOND
* SQL_TSI_WEEK
* SQL_TSI_YEAR
* SSL
* STARTING
* STRAIGHT_JOIN
* STRIPED
* TABLE
* TABLES
* TERMINATED
* THEN
* TIMESTAMPADD
* TIMESTAMPDIFF
* TINYBLOB
* TINYINT
* TINYTEXT
* TO
* TRAILING
* TRUE
* UNDO
* UNION
* UNIQUE
* UNLOCK
* UNSIGNED
* UPDATE
* USAGE
* USE
* USER_RESOURCES
* USING
* UTC_DATE
* UTC_TIME
* UTC_TIMESTAMP
* VALUES
* VARBINARY
* VARCHAR
* VARCHARACTER
* VARYING
* WHEN
* WHERE
* WHILE
* WITH
* WRITE
* XOR
* YEAR_MONTH
* ZEROFILL	

Learn about all the various reserved keywords in MySQL.

Reserved Words

Is you head spinning from reading over all of the preliminary planning and trying to figure out which data types to use? On to some actual coding... but first... you need to know or find out a bit more information called **host, username, and password**.

The HOST value is usually set as **localhost**. You may want to check your host server's FAQ/HELP area or email them to be sure.

The USERNAME and PASSWORD are relatively easy considering they are the same ones you use to log onto your hosting account normally.

Now you should be ready to create your first database with the help of PHP. This example shows three parts to do this.

<Code
  language="php"
  text={`<?php

// set your infomation.
$dbhost='localhost';
$dbusername='david';
$dbuserpass='mypassword';
$dbname='test';

// connect to the mysql database server.
$link_id = mysql_connect ($dbhost, $dbusername, $dbuserpass);
echo "success in database connection.";

// create the database.
$dbname=$dbusername."_".$dbname;
if (!mysql_query("CREATE DATABASE $dbname")) die(mysql_error());
echo "success in database creation.";

?>`}
/>

The first section declares your basic variables. These let you easily use them throughout the rest of the coding.

The second section connects to the database server. We are using a variable to activate a MySQL command. The variable will hold a positive or negative value depending on the successful connection or not. **mysql_connect** is the database command to connect to the database server using the initial settings.

The third section is doing a few things. First it is altering the value of the database name. On some systems, the databases are arranged in a "UserName_DataBaseName" setup. Thus to be compatible, the script is creating this effect for us. The example will produce a database file called "david_test".

The next line is using an IF statement. If the statement holds a true value (being a negative result from the query), it will stop the current script (die) and print out the specific SQL error. **mysql_query** is the command being used to activate the specified information which happens to be to CREATE a DATABASE called test. As long as this line did not "die", the last echo command will print out a successful creation.

Learn about how to create a new database in MySQL.

CREATE DATABASE

**CONDITIONALS** are operators which allow you to get more specific (or general) in your query.

* \=\: equals
* \<\: less than
* \>\: greater than
* \<=\: less than or equal to
* \>=\: greater than or equal to
* \!=\: not equal to
* IS NOT NULL: has any value
* IS NULL: has no value at all
* BETWEEN: within a specified range
* NOT BETWEEN: outside of a specified range
* OR: one of two equations are true
* ||: same as OR
* AND: both equations are true
* &&: same as AND
* NOT: both equations are false
* !: same as NOT

<Code
  language="php"
  text={`$sql = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE some equation && another equation");

while ($row = mysql_fetch_row($sql)) {
echo "$row[0] $row[1] $row[2] <br />";
}`}
/>

The query will only pick out the rows that provide a TRUE result according to the WHERE equation. In this case, there would be TWO parts that must be true to return a result. Example...

<Code
  language="php"
  text={`$sql = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM address_book WHERE first_name='David' && last_name='Stanley'");

while ($row = mysql_fetch_row($sql)) {
echo "$row[0] $row[1] $row[2] <br />";
}`}
/>

The query would search the address_book table and compare all of the data in the first_name column AND the last_name column for the specified values. The WHILE loop then prints out the results found if both equations are found TRUE.

Learn about how to use conditionals in MySQL.

CONDITIONALS

You have your database area created, but that is just giving a name to the area. It is a big blank space. The next step is to put at least one table in it.

Tables are the main part of a database. A database will hold one to many tables depending on what you are trying to create.

Just like a normal HTML table, a MySQL table is a big square divided into rows and columns. Each square is called a cell or field.

Each table in a database needs a title or name.
Each column in a table needs a title or name.

<Code
  language="php"
  text={`<?php

// set your infomation.
$dbhost='localhost';
$dbusername='david';
$dbuserpass='mypassword';
$dbname='test';

// connect to the mysql database server.
$link_id = mysql_connect ($dbhost, $dbusername, $dbuserpass);
echo "success in database connection.";

// select the specific database name we want to access.
$dbname=$dbusername."_".$dbname;
if (!mysql_select_db($dbname)) die(mysql_error());
echo "success in database selection.";

// add a table to the selected database
$result="CREATE TABLE address_book (first_name VARCHAR(25), last_name VARCHAR(25), phone_number VARCHAR(15))";
if (mysql_query($result)){
echo "success in table creation.";
} else {
echo "no table created.";
}

?>`}
/>

There are 4 sections to the above example coding. The first two sections initialize the main variable information and use it to connect to the database server.

The third section tells the database server which database we want to work with. In this case, it is the "david_test" database we created on the previous tutorial page. The IF statement will stop the script and print out the SQL error if the mysql_select_db command produces a false result. If there is a positive result, the script will continue on.

The last section will create the TABLE giving it a name. It also creates the columns giving them a name and declaring what type of data will be entered into them. Taking a closer look...

<Code
  language="sql"
  text={`$result="CREATE TABLE address_book (first_name VARCHAR(25), last_name VARCHAR(25), phone_number VARCHAR(15))";`}
/>

A variable $result is being used to store the information for the up coming query command. This information can be entered directly into the query command itself, but storing it into a variable makes it easier to control and edit.

CREATE TABLE address_book( ) will create a table named "address_book" and create the following columns in it. The comma seperated list in the brackets will become the columns in the table. first_name VARCHAR(25) will name the first column as "first_name" and states that the data entered into this column will probably be a VARiable CHARacter length being 25 characters maximum. And so on for the second and third columns.

The IF statement will execute the actual mysql_query using the information stored in the variable. It will print out a success or failure depending on the results.

Learn about how to create a table in MySQL.

CREATE TABLE

The first part, and most important, of a database is the planning. What kind of information are you going to be working with? What type of table structure would best suit it? Will you need to use more than one table format?

Without knowing much about how MySQL really works, it may be hard to do all of this planning. Before going head on into programming a database, take a step back and think about what you are using the database for.

An address book application may need only one table. It can hold columns representing name, address, phone number, and so forth.

Some elaborate applications may entail many tables. One that will hold product information, one to hold buyer information, one to hold seller information, one to hold categories information, and so on.

Take a pencil and paper, sit down for a while, and try to organize the layout. Draw a grid of rows and columns. Put titles in the top of the columns. Start a new grid page if you have a new category.

This can be the hardest part of creating a database. Don't worry about the exact layout. It may change as you progress through the database creation anyways. Just try to have a good idea on the kind of layout you would like to achieve.

Learn about the importance of planning in MySQL.

Planning

Query, as in, to ask a question. Working with a database, this concept will be put to very good use.

On the INSERT tutorial page, you've already seen a QUERY in action. The query asked the database to insert the new information into the specified database table.

The **SELECT** property can be used in a mysql_query command to choose specific information in the database table.

<Code
  language="php"
  text={`$sql = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM table_name");`}
/>

The variable $sql is being used to find the information in the address_book table. The * is a symbol meaning "all". It will look at all of the records FROM the specified table.

To look at each row in the specified area, the next step is to use a loop and the mysql_fetch_row command with the SELECT information.

<Code
  language="php"
  text={`while ($row = mysql_fetch_row($sql)) {
echo "$row[0] $row[1] $row[2] <br />";
}`}
/>

**WHILE** the statement is TRUE, the loop will continue.

The mysql_fetch_row command will take the supplied information and read the data from the next available row of the database.

The ECHO command being used to display the data during each row loop is a simple one for example purposes. The columns of a database are numbered starting at zero. The variable $row is assigned the current row contents during each loop.

Learn about the SELECT SQL clause in MySQL.

SELECT

MySQL is a database. A database is a data storage feature. It can be used to store, sort, arrange, and display information. MySQL is a functional feature on it's own. For our tutorials, we will be using PHP commands to use the functions of a MySQL database.

phpMyAdmin is a graphical interface program that allows you to use the functions of a MySQL database. Some hosts may have this program available.

MySQL is a data storage area. In this storage area, there are small sections called TABLES. Very similar to a normal HTML table, the MySQL tables consist of rows, columns, and cells.

You can learn about MySQL from their source website here...
http://www.mysql.com

You can learn about phpMyAdmin from their source website here...
http://www.phpmyadmin.net/home_page/.

Other tutorials will go through the process of installing and operating the MySQL database. We will assume you have an online host that supports and offers a MySQL database for your site.

Learn about one of the world's most popular SQL databases: MySQL.

MySQL

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