Advanced Mysql PHP Tutorial
PHP and MySQL are two open-source software technologies used to manage websites. PHP controls all the server-side programming that affects how a website behaves, while MySQL is the Linux version of the SQL database language that allows data to be stored on a site. An online blog, for example, may use PHP to control the layout and function of the pages and MySQL to actually store the blog articles in a database. These two languages can operate independently of one another, if desired. However, the PHP function library includes many MySQL-specific commands to control a database from directly within a PHP program. This obviates the need for a separate system for database management and also makes it possible to create more interactive websites. The PHP MySQL functions are based on traditional SQL syntax. Anyone familiar with PHP and SQL will have no difficultly integrating the two. Typically, these two languages are installed by default on any Apache web server platform. This is the most common web server protocol provided by web hosting companies.
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Instructions
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Connect to the MySQL database from within a PHP program using the "mysql_connect" command. Normally, at a MySQL command prompt on the server itself, you would connect with the "mysql" and "use" commands. These are combined by "mysql_connect" and the name of the database, the username and the password are all added to the command's parameters as "mysql_connect('localhost', 'mysql_user', 'mysql_password');".
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Query the MySQL database using "mysql_query". Any typical MySQL query can be included in this command. This would include all "SELECT" and "INSERT" queries that extract or input data to a database. For example, "mysql_query('SELECT * FROM TABLE');". Essentially, any standard MySQL query is simply enclosed in the "mysql_query" command parenthesis to make the query accessible from PHP.
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Assign database items to PHP variables using the "mysql_fetch" commands. This can only be accomplished after the database has been queried with "mysql_query". If the query is successful and data is made available to PHP, these additional "fetch" commands are required to translate that data into useful variables that your program can manipulate. Since a typical "SELECT" query will return many rows of data, PHP must store these in an array. An array may be numerical or associative, depending on your style of programming. The command "mysql_fetch_row" will create an enumerated array while "mysql_fetch_assoc" will assign data to text-based indices.
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Close the database connection with "mysql_close" after all queries are made. While the program will remain operational even if the database connection is not terminated, it will continue to use hardware resources unnecessarily. This would slow down the server and could be particularly noticeable on websites that service a large number of visitors.
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Tips & Warnings
These are the most common PHP functions for manipulating a MySQL database. Most actions can be accomplished using just these commands. However PHP offers many other MySQL functions for additional work. See the official PHP programmer's resource at PHP.net for a complete list.
References
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