Specific Databases in The Books Store

Authors Luke Welling and Laura Thomson's technique aims to get readers going on their own projects as soon as possible. They present easily digestible sections on specific technical processes--"Accessing array contents" and "Using encryption with PHP" are two examples. Each section centers on a sample program that strips the task at hand down to its essentials, enabling the reader to fit the process into his or her own solutions as required. Tables that list options and other nuggets of reference material appear as well, but the many examples and the authors' commentary on them take center stage.

For reference material on MySQL, have a look at Paul DuBois's MySQL. On the PHP side, Web Application Development with PHP 4.0 is excellent. --David Wall

Topics covered:

• The MySQL database server (for both Unix and Windows)
• Accessing MySQL databases through PHP scripting (the letters don't really stand for anything)
• Database creation and modification
• PHP tricks in order of increasing complexity--everything from basic SQL queries to secure transactions for commerce
• Authentication
• Network connectivity
• Session management
• Content customization

Beginning PHP and MySQL: From Novice to Professional, Third Edition offers a comprehensive introduction to two of the most prominent open source technologies on the planet: the PHP scripting language and the MySQL database server. Updated to introduce the features found in MySQLs most significant release to date, readers learn how to take advantage of the latest features of both technologies to build powerful, manageable, and stable web applications.

Essentially three books in one, readers not only profit from extensive introductions to the core features of each technology, but also learn how to effectively integrate the two in order to build robust data-driven applications. Packed with practical examples and insight into the real-world challenges faced by developers based on author W. Jason Gilmore's 7 years of expertise working with these technologies, readers will repeatedly return to this book as both a valuable instructional tool and reference guide.

What youll learn

• The PHP language
• How to back your web site with MySQL
• Templating so that you can apply a consistent design across all pages on your site
• How to authenticate your web site users
• How to use cookies to maintain information (such as items in a shopping cart) while a user is browsing your site

Who is this book for?

This book is written for developers seeking to take advantage of the PHP language and MySQL database to create powerful web applications.

About the Apress Beginning Series

The Beginning series from Apress is the right choice to get the information you need to land that crucial entry-level job. These books will teach you a standard and important technology from the ground up because they are explicitly designed to take you from "novice to professional." Youll start your journey by seeing what you need to knowbut without needless theory and filler. Youll build your skill set by learning how to put together real-world projects step by step. So whether your goal is your next career challenge or a new learning opportunity, the Beginning series from Apress will take you thereit is your trusted guide through unfamiliar territory!

Now available in an updated second edition, our very popular "SQL Pocket Guide" is a major help to programmers, database administrators, and everyone who uses SQL in their day-to-day work. The "SQL Pocket Guide" is a concise reference to frequently used SQL statements and commonly used SQL functions. Not just an endless collection of syntax diagrams, this portable guide addresses the language's complexity head on and leads by example. The information in this edition has been updated to reflect the latest versions of the most commonly used SQL variants including:

Oracle Database 10g, Release 2 (including

the free Oracle Database 10g Express Edition (XE))

Microsoft SQL Server 2005

MySQL 5

IBM DB2 8.2

Let's face it, SQL is a deceptively simple language to learn, and many database developers never go far beyond the simple statement: SELECT FROM WHERE . But there is "so" much more you can do with the language. In the "SQL Cookbook," experienced SQL developer Anthony Molinaro shares his favorite SQL techniques and features. You'll learn about:

Window functions, arguably the most significant enhancement to SQL in the past decade. If you're not using these, you're missing out

Powerful, database-specific features such as SQL Server's PIVOT and UNPIVOT operators, Oracle's MODEL clause, and PostgreSQL's very useful GENERATE_SERIES function

Pivoting rows into columns, reverse-pivoting columns into rows, using pivoting to facilitate inter-row calculations, and double-pivoting a result set

"Bucketization," and why you should never use that term in Brooklyn.

How to create histograms, summarize data into buckets, perform aggregations over a moving range of values, generate running-totals and subtotals, and other advanced, data warehousing techniques

The technique of "walking a string," which allows you to use SQL to parse through the characters, words, or delimited elements of a string

MySQL is one of the most popular database management systems available, powering everything from Internet powerhouses to individual corporate databases to simple end-user applications, and everything in between. And this book will teach you all you need to know to be immediately productive with MySQL. By working through 30 highly focused hands-on lessons, your MySQL Crash Course will be both easier and more effective than you'd have thought possible. Learn how to:

• Retrieve and sort data
• Filter data using comparisons, regular expressions, full text search, and much more
• Join relational data
• Create and alter tables
• Insert, update, and delete data
• Leverage the power of stored procedures and triggers
• Use views and Cursors
• Manage transactional processing
• Create user accounts and manage security via access control

Ben Forta is Macromedia's Senior Technical Evangelist, and has almost 20 years of experience in the computer industry in product development, support, training, and product marketing. Ben is the author of the best-selling Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes (now in its third edition, and translated into over a dozen languages), ColdFusion Web Application Construction Kit, and Advanced ColdFusion Development (both published by Que Publishing), Sams Teach Yourself Regular Expressions in 10 Minutes, as well as books on SQL, Flash, JSP, HomeSite, WAP, Windows 2000, and other subjects.