The Definitive Guide to MySQL, Second Edition

Rating:
Summary: Great practical book for MySQL and databases in general.
Review: "MySQL" is one of the clearest and coherent computer books I have ever used. I was amazed to find out the book is translated from German. The English translation was very well done as the book reads better than others that have been written originally in English! The book is well laid out with many good illustrations and code samples for MySQL 3.23, the current release. There are numerous pointers and tips throughout the book that really helped a database novice like myself to get the most utility from the book and MySQL. The in-depth section on database design in Chapter 5 was almost worth the whole cost of the book to me! This book truly made me comfortable working with database software, something I had not done prior to acquiring MySQL and Mr. Kofler's book. I look forward to the release of MySQL version 4.0 and I will make sure to get the next edition of the "MySQL" book so that I know that I will have the information I need to know for version 4.0 in a handy, readable form.

Rating:
Summary: Great Resource - one of the best
Review: Fully updated to include information on MySQL 4.0 and 4.1 "The Definitive Guide to MySQL, Second Edition" is one of the most through and yet easily understandable texts on MySQL available. The author assumes no previous knowledge of SQL or even database theory and design so you really start at the beginning. In fact chapter five, database design, is one of the more lucid explanations of relational databases and design theory that I have read anywhere.

Another item that differentiates this book from others of the same genre is the inclusion of a chapter of SQL recipes. This chapter is basically a cookbook that takes the most common tasks you may need to accomplish with your MySQL database and provides a recipe to accomplish that task.

It includes coverage of InnoDB tables (very important in a multi-user environment) and many other items besides the usual installation, administration, and configuration items you would expect. Of course, if you are writing a MySQL application you will have to use some sort of programming language to write your program. In keeping with the OpenSource theme of the book it includes extensive coverage of PHP, Perl, Java, C, C++, Visual Basic, C#, and ODBC. The book does not pretend to teach any of these programming languages but provides the information to use them with MySQL if you know that particular language. As a regular user of PHP, Perl, Visual Basic, and ODBC connections I found the coverage to be excellent, including everything you need to know to connect to the database and do whatever you need.

The book ends with an excellent reference section, a section on MySQL Tools, and even a section an API reference. In short it is one of the most exhaustive books on the subject and provides everything for a new user as well as complete reference coverage for an experienced user, programmer, or administrator. "The Definitive Guide to MySQL, Second Edition" is highly recommended for anyone interested in learning, administering, or programming MySQL.

Rating:
Summary: Great Resource - one of the best
Review: Fully updated to include information on MySQL 4.0 and 4.1 "The Definitive Guide to MySQL, Second Edition" is one of the most through and yet easily understandable texts on MySQL available. The author assumes no previous knowledge of SQL or even database theory and design so you really start at the beginning. In fact chapter five, database design, is one of the more lucid explanations of relational databases and design theory that I have read anywhere.

Another item that differentiates this book from others of the same genre is the inclusion of a chapter of SQL recipes. This chapter is basically a cookbook that takes the most common tasks you may need to accomplish with your MySQL database and provides a recipe to accomplish that task.

It includes coverage of InnoDB tables (very important in a multi-user environment) and many other items besides the usual installation, administration, and configuration items you would expect. Of course, if you are writing a MySQL application you will have to use some sort of programming language to write your program. In keeping with the OpenSource theme of the book it includes extensive coverage of PHP, Perl, Java, C, C++, Visual Basic, C#, and ODBC. The book does not pretend to teach any of these programming languages but provides the information to use them with MySQL if you know that particular language. As a regular user of PHP, Perl, Visual Basic, and ODBC connections I found the coverage to be excellent, including everything you need to know to connect to the database and do whatever you need.

The book ends with an excellent reference section, a section on MySQL Tools, and even a section an API reference. In short it is one of the most exhaustive books on the subject and provides everything for a new user as well as complete reference coverage for an experienced user, programmer, or administrator. "The Definitive Guide to MySQL, Second Edition" is highly recommended for anyone interested in learning, administering, or programming MySQL.

Rating:
Summary: Saved my you-know-what
Review: I committed to doing a MySQL project because it was less expensive overall for my client than using software I'm more familiar with (I'm not naming names but let's just call them SQL Server and .Net). I'm very experienced creating databases but brand new to MySQL and PHP. I don't know how I would have survived without Kofler's book. He not only explains everything step-by-step but in a very relevant, clear way. I had several other books in my arsenal and found I dropped all of them when I needed to look something up and just used Kofler all the way. Everything I needed to do, he had an example for in his demo files!

I know from experience how frustrating it can be not to have the right resources available. Although there are some great user's groups and so on, Kofler's book saved me a ton of time because I found pretty much everything in his book. Using his book and the free, on-line PDF MySQL manual is all you'll need to do a complex business application for the web.

Thanks Kofler. You're my hero!

Rating:
Summary: A Must for MySQL Developers and Administrators Alike
Review: The Definitive Guide to MySQL is a thorough, yet easy to understand resource for enhancing your database skills and knowledge. This book isn't just another version of the MySQL documentation. It teaches the reader a great deal about relational database design and all of the options to consider beforehand, such as choosing a table type, when and where to use indexes, etc. The book also provides a solid understanding of administering a MySQL installation, exploring such topics as performance tuning, backups, replication, and upgrades.

For those on the programming side, you will find information on creating applications using a wide variety of languages, including PHP, Perl, Java, C++, and Visual Basic, although PHP is the most extensively covered.

Overall, I'd say Michael Kofler did an excellent job on this book. All of the examples and explanations are clear and concise. If you are simply looking for a quick MySQL function reference, stick with the documentation. However, if you want to really learn how to get the most out of MySQL, this book is a must.

Rating:
Summary: A Must for MySQL Developers and Administrators Alike
Review: The Definitive Guide to MySQL is a thorough, yet easy to understand resource for enhancing your database skills and knowledge. This book isn't just another version of the MySQL documentation. It teaches the reader a great deal about relational database design and all of the options to consider beforehand, such as choosing a table type, when and where to use indexes, etc. The book also provides a solid understanding of administering a MySQL installation, exploring such topics as performance tuning, backups, replication, and upgrades.

For those on the programming side, you will find information on creating applications using a wide variety of languages, including PHP, Perl, Java, C++, and Visual Basic, although PHP is the most extensively covered.

Overall, I'd say Michael Kofler did an excellent job on this book. All of the examples and explanations are clear and concise. If you are simply looking for a quick MySQL function reference, stick with the documentation. However, if you want to really learn how to get the most out of MySQL, this book is a must.

Rating:
Summary: Very clear! Best book I found on MySQL
Review: This book covers both UNIX/LINUX and Windows for almost every topic - I really like that especially since we run a mixed environment and I'm wanting to learn more LINUX.

I'm a Windows user who needed to setup MySQL that was required by a free message board [;ocal website]). This book made the MySQL portion of the install extremely easy and covered all of the topics I needed to know to setup MySQL in a Windows environment. He covered all the "gotchas" with both Windows and UNIX/LINUX platforms - nice! It also covers setting up and interfacign with PHP, Apache and other system "components" - which really helped me to deploy my message board project.

I enjoyed his writing style so much, I found myself reading the book front to back, versus looking up specific topics - that doesn't happen very often with these types of technical books.

The information is up to date, even though it's over a year old. I checked out the top 3 MySQL books out there and this one was my favorite for getting started clear through advanced usage - there is not a lot of "fluff" - just a clear writing style hitting all the topics.

Rating:
Summary: Complete MySQL
Review: This is more than just a heplful book. Whether you are a novice or a pro it is an excelent choice. It covers almost everything that one should know about MySQL and gives you also a knowledge of programming with other clients such as database programming for WEB, not only with clients like Visual Basic applications. The book has also support on the authors web site and there I was able to find all the examples written in the book. Nevertheless, I find it very useful, and books like this can only help in the further developement of open-source software and in bringing joy to end-users.

Rating:
Summary: A very thorough professional book
Review: Very good book. The content is very precise and has content which will be useful to newbie as a well as to a seasoned MySQL user. I recomment it to all.

Rating:
Summary: If you want to learn, this is the right book...
Review: When learning about databases, especially in relation to the Internet, there is a lot of ground to cover. Kofler's book is comprehensive, instructive, and well-written. The pace is perfect and the information is well defined. If something is simple to do, Kofler makes it simple. If something is hard to understand, just read the section again.

Kofler considers the needs of many readers, and perhaps one of the best elements of this book is its inclusion of pertinent information. When Kofler is introducing MySQL, he lists other open-source databases. Throughout the book Windows and Linux environments are included in examples. All examples in the book have their active online counterparts on kofler's website.

This book is full of applicable information. Highly recommended.