MYSQL In a Nutshell: A Desktop
Quick Reference 2nd edition
Reviewed by Robert Pritchett
Author: Russell Dyer
O'Reilly
http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596514334/index.html
Released: April
2008
Pages: 564
$35 USD
ISBN: 9780596514334
For those who have a
foundation in databases and want to learn about MYSQL.
Strengths: Provides the latest "stable" environment for
My SQL.
Weaknesses: None. |
|
Introduction
Need to find something in MySQL?
This convenient reference offers you all the details you need, day in and day
out, in one concise and extremely well organized book. The new edition contains
all the commands and programming information for version 5.1, including new
features and language interfaces. It's ideal for anyone using MySQL, from
novices who need to get up to speed to advanced users who want a handy
reference.
he new edition contains all the
commands and programming information for version 5.1, including new features
and language interfaces. It's ideal for anyone using MySQL, from novices who
need to get up to speed to advanced users who want a handy reference. Like all
O'Reilly Nutshell references, it's easy to use and highly authoritative,
written by the editor of the MySQL Knowledge Base at MySQL AB, the creator and
owner of MySQL.
Inside, you'll find:
- A
thorough reference to MySQL statements, functions, and administrative utilities
- Several
tutorial chapters to help newcomers get started
- Programming
language APIs for PHP, Perl, and C
- Brief
tutorials at the beginning of each API chapter to help anyone, regardless of
experience level, understand and master unfamiliar territory
- New
chapters on replication, triggers, and stored procedures
- Plenty
of new examples of how MySQL is used in practice
- Useful
tips to help you get through the most difficult subjects
Whether you employ MySQL in a
mission-critical, heavy-use environment or for applications that are more
modest, this book puts a wealth of easy-to-find information at your fingertips,
saving you hundreds of hours of trial and error and tedious online searching.
If you're ready to take advantage of everything MySQL has to offer, MySQL in a
Nutshell has precisely what it takes.
What I Learned
These Nutshell books hold large nuts and there is a lot of
meat in them. MySQL is indeed open source and is impacting both domains of
Oracle and MS SQL Server, but it isn't a panacea for all things database. It
does have limitations. It does not scale well, but in most cases it does the
job, does it well and has plenty of support around the world.
MySQL is included in every instance of Mac OS X, but it is
usually an older version. The book indicates how to do the update using either
TAR or PKG. The book also spells out how to install distributions for other
OSes as well.
The book I sin 5 parts with an intro, install and basics,
SQL statements and functions, security, database and table schema, data
manipulation, table and server admin, replication, stored routines, aggregate
clauses functions and subquiries, string, data, time, mathematical and flow
functions, server and client tools, command-line utilities, APIs and connectors
for C, Perl and PHP and 3 appendices on data types operators and server and
environmental variables.
Conclusion
The book covers version 5.1 and not 6.0, but hey, it
provides the latest foundation for being able to speak intelligently about one
of the most popular and widespread relational database programs out there. It's
also a pretty good way to look under the skirt of most servers –
including Mac servers that use it as their "mental memory". It is a
Reference Guide, after all.
