 | MySQL Overview
SQL stands for Structured Query Language. It is the most common language used for accessing a database. It has been in use for many years by many database vendors. Many consider it the best database language to use. It is used by the MySQL database feature inside your control panel.
Without going into the technical details, SQL is a language which consists of a set of commands that you issue to create, make changes to, and retrieve data from a database. Here are some SQL command examples.
These commands can be issued through a Graphical User Interface or by embedding them in a computer program that you write.
The MySQL Control Panel provided as part of your account is a GUI that works over the internet through your web browser. This makes it very convenient for administration of web based database applications. Setting up and managing your database will be done through the MySQL Control Panel.
To allow access to your database through your web site, you will need to create Common Gateway Interface scripts. These scripts are small computer programs which run on the web hosting server and are activated by clicking on a link or a button in a web page. This will allow users of your web site to interact with your web site in a more meaningful manner. Using CGI scripts and MySQL you can maintain account information on visitors, allow people to search and browse catalogs, and much more. See Using MySQL with CGI scripts for documentation on how to set up such scripts.
MySQL is an implementation of the SQL language developed by TcX. It is robust, quick, and very flexible. It provides all of the standard SQL datatypes and commands. MySQL is provided as part of your web site account at no additional charge. MySQL is pronounced “My Ess Que Ell.”
For step by step instruction on how to preform some common tasks see the Quick Actions section.
Detailed documentation, licensing information, and much more can be found at the MySQL web site. Many books are available which describe SQL in detail. If you plan on doing much database development, it is recommended that you review one or more of these.
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| Using The MySQL Control Panel
The MySQL feature inside your Control Panel is where you manage your database, including desiging tables, adding, deleting, and updating records, all from within your web browser.
When you first click on the MySQL feature, you will be asked to provide a name for your database and a password, you can use the same username and password that you use for your Control Panel if you so desire. Once the database is created, and you return to this feature inside your Control Panel it will then become the Welcome page for your database. A tree view is on the left. The name of your database and the version of MySQL are displayed to the right of the tree.
The Tree
The top entry in the tree, “Home,” will return you to the Welcome page. Beneath that is your database name and a square with a plus or minus sign in it. Clicking the square will show and hide the names of the tables in the database in the tree. Clicking on the database name in the tree will display the main database management page. Clicking on one of the tables names in the tree will display the properties of that table.
The Main Database Management Page
This page displays a list of all the tables in your database and the number of records in each. You can also execute an SQL statement, perform advanced queries, dump the database, and create new tables.
The List of Tables
Next to each table name are links to various actions you can perform on a table.
Browse Display the records in the table 30 at a time. From the Browse page you can edit or delete a record.
Select Build and execute a SELECT query on the table. Only those records which match the criteria you provide will be displayed.
Insert Add a new record to the table. Enter the data in the fields provided. Various functions can be used to obtain the current time, generate random numbers, and more. Press the Save button to insert the record into the table.
Properties Display the fields in the table with their datatype and attributes. Table management functions for the table are also provided.
Drop Remove the table and its contents from the database. Once you do this neither the table nor the data will be available.
Empty Delete all of the records in the table. Once you do this the table will still exits but the data in the table will no longer be available.
Execute an SQL Statement.
Any SQL statement can be executed on your database by typing it into the textbox labled “Run SQL query/queries on database” and pressing the “Go” button. For help with SQL statements ???
Query by example
Advanced queries can be built and executed using a graphical interface.
View dump (schema) of database.
Dumping of the database displays the structure and or data contained in the database. You can then save this information to a file on your local computer for archiving or to aide in the development of your database. The contents and format of the dump are based on the radio button and check box selections you make. See also View dump (schema) of table.
Create a new table.
Create a new table by typing in the name of the table and the number of fields to be in the table and pressing the “Go” button. You will be shown a page which will allow you to set up the datatype and attributes of each field.
Examples of SQL Statements.
Below a few examples are provided to give you an idea of what an SQL statement looks like.
Though they have a specific structure and can perform complex operations, SQL commands are fairly easy to understand.
For example,
CREATE TABLE Phonebook (
Id char(5),
Name char(50),
Telephone char(11)
);
creates a new table in your database named Phonebook that has three fields, Id, Name, and Telephone, which are characters strings of length 5, 50 , and 11, respectively.
The statement.
INSERT INTO Phonebook (Id, Name, Telephone)
VALUES (‘AAAAA’, ‘Joe Smith’, ‘800-555-1212’);
adds the data into the named fields as a new record of the Phonebook table in your database.
The statement.
SELECT Name, Telephone
FROM Phonebook
WHERE Id = ‘AAAAA’;
searches the table Phonebook and finds the Name and Telephone number of the customer whose Id is equal to ‘AAAAA’.
These are, of course, simple statements. Much more complicated databases and queries can be written using SQL, all of which are supported by MySQL.
Much of your database management will be done through the MySQL Control Panel provided in your account administration pages and not by typing in commands such as above. Though not needed, a working undrstanding of how to read and write SQL statements is of great help. There are many books and web sites which teach SQL and have many more examples. If you plan on doing much database development, it is recommended that you review them.
Table Select.
From this page you can perform a SELECT operation on the table.
The list box in the upper left contains the names of all the fields in the table. Select from the list box the columns you wish to see in your result set.
Any valid WHERE clause can be entered in the "Add search conditions" text box.
The field names and a text box are listed again under the "Do a 'query by example'" bullet. These can be used build a WHERE clause more easily than typing the entire clause into the textbox above. Each entry becomes a condition of the WHERE clause. The conditional operator used is LIKE which allows the wildcard operators "%" and "_" to represent zero or more characters, and a single character, respectively.
SELECT Name, Telephone
FROM Phonebook
WHERE Id LIKE ‘Joe%’;
The wildcard characters can both appear in the same string and can appear more than one as needed. Note that using no wildcard characters is equivalent to using "=" instead of LIKE. LIKE is generally slower than "=" since MySQL must still check for wildcards characters. To use "=" or other conditions you must type them in the general WHERE clause textbox.
Press the Go button at the bottom of the page to process the select statement. If any records are found, they will be displayed in a table for you.
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