High Performance MySQL

Beginning PHP 5 and MySQL: From Novice to Professional

PHP 5 Objects, Patterns, and Practice

MySQL Cookbook

Mysql And Msql

Beginning MySQL Database Design and Optimization: From Novice to Professional

Format: Paperback
Author: Chad Russell
ReleaseDate: 18 October, 2004
Publisher: Apress
Rating:

Great Introduction to MySQL
Overall having read the book from cover to cover ( a first for me as far as computer books go ) I can thoroughly recommend this book to anyone new to using MySQL. As a beginner to MySQL I bought this book to gain an insight into the how's and why's of using MySQL. The layout is clear, the text easily readable, not too techie at first but still a great deal of examples for you to get up and running.
The writing style is easy going but not preaching and all topics are treated in an easy to grasp manner.
The only down side is that it doesn't cover programming MySQL using Visual Basic although several other languages are covered well.
Overall a great book for the newbie and intermediate user.

5 stars for novice to intermediate 4 for professionals
The authors have written an excellent introduction to MySQL that provides all the core information you need to start using it right away. The first three chapters of this book deal with the basics of MySQL including basic concepts, column and table types, keys, indexes, and normalization. The chapter on finding the bottlenecks is one of the best sections in the book and details some of the finer points to be considered when creating your database. On the other hand, the part on optimizing queries is excellent for the beginning MySQL student (which is the target audience for this book) but not as good as it could be for the more experienced MySQL user. Perhaps I am just more sensitive to this area because of all the badly done queries I have had to deal with before. A good understanding of just this part can make a tremendous difference in optimization. If you are new to SQL queries the authors have done a great job of explaining why this is important and how to understand it when a query takes under a minute to run and then after a small change takes twenty. The last section covers accessing the MySQL database via other programming languages such as PHP. Beginning MySQL Database Design and Optimization is a recommended read for its target audience - the beginning MySQL programmer.

improve your MySQL usage
The authors plow straight into giving good tips for better table design. If you already know the basics of MySQL, then this book can be a nifty boost to your productivity. For example, the first chapter covers MySQL basics. But it furnishes very understandable advice. Like never using spaces in identifier names. While MySQL permits this, it greatly increases chances of logic errors.

Later in the book are far more complicated tips. Crucially, on how to optimise complex queries. While SQL notation is standard across vendors, each database has different ways to best phrase queries. So since you have committed to using MySQL, it helps to know what are best here.

The authors also instruct in how to hook up to external languages like PHP, Perl and Python. (What is it about all these languages that start with P?) Each has its adherents and is quite popular. So they try to give coverage of the combinations with MySQL. .