MySQL Crash Course

by Ben Forta

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780672327124
Publisher:	Pearson Education
Publication date:	12/12/2005
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.45(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Ben Forta is Macromedia Corporation's product evangelist for the ColdFusion product line. Ben has over 15 years of experience in the computer industry, and spent 6 years as part of the development team responsible for creating OnTime, one of the most successful calendar and group-scheduling products, with over one million users worldwide. Ben is the author of the popular ColdFusion Web Application Construction Kit, and its sequel Advanced ColdFusion 4 Application Development. His book Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes is one of the world's bestselling SQL books with over 100,000 copies sold.

Read an Excerpt

IntroductionIntroduction

MySQL has become one of the most popular database management systems in the world. From small development projects to some of the best-known and most prestigious sites on the Web, MySQL has proven itself to be a solid, reliable, fast, and trusted solution to all sorts of data storage needs.

This book is based on my best-selling Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes. That book has become one of the most-used SQL tutorials in the world, with an emphasis on teaching what you really need to know—methodically, systematically, and simply. But as popular and as successful as that book is, it does have some limitations:

• In covering all of the major DBMSs, coverage of DBMS-specific features and functionality had to be kept to a minimum.

• To simplify the SQL taught, the lowest common denominator had to be found—SQL statements that would (as much as possible) work with all major DBMSs. This requirement necessitated that better DBMS-specific solutions not be covered.

• Although basic SQL tends to be rather portable between DBMSs, more advanced SQL most definitely is not. As such, that book could not cover advanced topics, such as triggers, cursors, stored procedures, access control, transactions, and more, in any real detail.

And that is where this book comes in. MySQL Crash Course builds on the proven tutorials and structure of Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes, without getting bogged down with anything but MySQL. Starting with simple data retrieval and working on to more complex topics, including the use of joins, subqueries, regular expression and full text-based searches, stored procedures, cursors, triggers, table constraints, and much more. You'll learn what you need to know methodically, systematically, and simply—in highly focused chapters designed to make you immediately and effortlessly productive.

So turn to Chapter 1, and get to work. You'll be taking advantage of all MySQL has to offer in no time at all.

Who Is This Book For?

This book is for you if

• You are new to SQL.

• You are just getting started with MySQL and want to hit the ground running.

• You want to quickly learn how to get the most out of MySQL.

• You want to learn how to use MySQL in your own application development.

• You want to be productive quickly and easily using MySQL without having to call someone for help.

Companion Website

This book has a companion website online at http://forta.com/books/0672327120/. Visit the site to access

• Table creation and population scripts used to create the example tables used throughout this book

• Visit the online support forum

• Access online errata (should one be required)

• Find other books that may be of interest to you

Conventions Used in This Book

This book uses different typefaces to differentiate between code and regular English, and also to help you identify important concepts.

Text that you type and text that should appear on your screen is presented in monospace type. It looks like this to mimic the way text looks on your screen.

Placeholders for variables and expressions appear in monospace italic font. You should replace the placeholder with the specific value it represents.

This arrow (¬) at the beginning of a line of code means that a single line of code is too long to fit on the printed page. Continue typing all the characters after the ¬ as though they were part of the preceding line.

Note - A Note presents interesting pieces of information related to the surrounding discussion.

Tip - A Tip offers advice or teaches an easier way to do something.

Caution - A Caution advises you about potential problems and helps you steer clear of disaster.

Note - A New Term box provide clear definitions of new, essential terms.

/Input

The Input icon identifies code that you can type in yourself. It usually appears next to a listing.

/Output

The Output icon highlights the output produced by running MySQL code. It usually appears after a listing.

/Analysis

The Analysis icon alerts you to the author's line-by-line analysis of input or output.

© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

MySQL¨Crash Course

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Who Is This Book For? ................................................................................. 2

Companion Website ...................................................................................... 2

Conventions Used in This Book ................................................................. 3

1 Understanding SQL 5

Database Basics ............................................................................................. 5

What Is SQL? ............................................................................................... 11

Try It Yourself ............................................................................................... 11

2 Introducing MySQL 13

What Is MySQL? ......................................................................................... 13

MySQL Tools ............................................................................................... 16

3 Working with MySQL 21

Making the Connection .............................................................................. 21

Selecting a Database .................................................................................. 22

Learning About Databases and Tables .................................................. 23

4 Retrieving Data 27

The SELECT Statement .............................................................................. 27

Retrieving Individual Columns ................................................................ 27

Retrieving Multiple Columns ................................................................... 29

Retrieving All Columns ............................................................................. 31

Retrieving Distinct Rows .......................................................................... 31

Limiting Results ........................................................................................... 33

Using Fully Qualified Table Names ...................................................... 35

5 Sorting Retrieved Data 37

Sorting Data .................................................................................................. 37

Sorting by Multiple Columns .................................................................... 39

Specifying Sort Direction .......................................................................... 40

6 Filtering Data 45

Using the WHERE Clause ......................................................................... 45

The WHERE Clause Operators ................................................................. 46

7 Advanced Data Filtering 53

Combining WHERE Clauses ..................................................................... 53

Using the IN Operator ................................................................................ 57

Using the NOT Operator ........................................................................... 59

8 Using Wildcard Filtering 61

Using the LIKE Operator ........................................................................... 61

Tips for Using Wildcards ........................................................................... 65

9 Searching Using RegularExpressions 67

Understanding Regular Expressions ....................................................... 67

Using MySQL Regular Expressions ....................................................... 68

10 Creating Calculated Fields 81

Understanding Calculated Fields ............................................................ 81

Concatenating Fields .................................................................................. 82

Performing Mathematical Calculations ................................................. 86

11 Using Data ManipulationFunctions 89

Understanding Functions ........................................................................... 89

Using Functions ........................................................................................... 90

12 Summarizing Data 99

Using Aggregate Functions ...................................................................... 99

Aggregates on Distinct Values .............................................................. 106

Combining Aggregate Functions ........................................................... 108

13 Grouping Data 111

Understanding Data Grouping ............................................................... 111

Creating Groups ......................................................................................... 112

Filtering Groups ......................................................................................... 113

Grouping and Sorting ................................................................................ 116

SELECT Clause Ordering ......................................................................... 119

14 Working with Subqueries 121

Understanding Subqueries ....................................................................... 121

Filtering by Subquery ................................................................................ 121

Using Subqueries As Calculated Fields ............................................. 126

15 Joining Tables 131

Understanding Joins .................................................................................. 131

Creating a Join ............................................................................................ 134

16 Creating Advanced Joins 143

Using Table Aliases ................................................................................. 143

Using Different Join Types ..................................................................... 144

Using Joins with Aggregate Functions ................................................ 149

Using Joins and Join Conditions ............................................................ 151

17 Combining Queries 153

Understanding Combined Queries ........................................................ 153

Creating Combined Queries ................................................................... 154

18 Full-Text Searching 161

Understanding Full-Text Searching ...................................................... 161

Using Full-Text Searching ...................................................................... 163

19 Inserting Data 177

Understanding Data Insertion ................................................................. 177

Inserting Complete Rows ........................................................................ 177

Inserting Multiple Rows ........................................................................... 181

Inserting Retrieved Data .......................................................................... 183

20 Updating and Deleting Data 187

Updating Data ............................................................................................ 187

Deleting Data ............................................................................................. 189

Guidelines for Updating and Deleting Data ...................................... 190

21 Creating and ManipulatingTables 193

Creating Tables .......................................................................................... 193

Updating Tables ......................................................................................... 203

Deleting Tables .......................................................................................... 205

Renaming Tables ....................................................................................... 205

22 Using Views 207

Understanding Views ............................................................................... 207

Using Views ............................................................................................... 210

23 Working with Stored Procedures 217

Understanding Stored Procedures .......................................................... 217

Why Use Stored Procedures ................................................................... 218

Using Stored Procedures .......................................................................... 219

24 Using Cursors 231

Understanding Cursors .............................................................................. 231

Working with Cursors ............................................................................... 232

25 Using Triggers 241

Understanding Triggers ............................................................................ 241

Creating Triggers ........................................................................................ 242

Dropping Triggers ...................................................................................... 243

Using Triggers ............................................................................................. 244

26 Managing TransactionProcessing 249

Understanding Transaction Processing ................................................ 249

Controlling Transactions .......................................................................... 252

27 Globalization and Localization 257

Understanding Character Sets and Collation
Sequences .............................................................................................. 257

Working with Character Set and Collation
Sequences .............................................................................................. 258

28 Managing Security 263

Understanding Access Control .............................................................. 263

Managing Users ......................................................................................... 264

29 Database Maintenance 273

Backing Up Data ....................................................................................... 273

Performing Database Maintenance ...................................................... 274

Diagnosing Startup Problems ................................................................. 275

Review Log Files ...................................................................................... 275

30 Improving Performance 277

Improving Performance ............................................................................ 277

A Getting Started with MySQL 281

What YouÕll Need ..................................................................................... 281

Obtaining the Software ............................................................................ 282

Installing the Software ............................................................................. 282

Preparing for Your Chapters ................................................................... 283

B The Example Tables 285

Understanding the Sample Tables ........................................................ 285

Creating the Sample Tables ................................................................... 290

C MySQL Statement Syntax 293

ALTER TABLE ............................................................................................. 293

COMMIT ........................................................................................................ 294

CREATE INDEX .......................................................................................... 294

CREATE PROCEDURE .............................................................................. 294

CREATE TABLE .......................................................................................... 294

CREATE USER ............................................................................................ 295

CREATE VIEW ............................................................................................ 295

DELETE ......................................................................................................... 295

DROP ............................................................................................................. 295

INSERT .......................................................................................................... 296

INSERT SELECT .......................................................................................... 296

ROLLBACK .................................................................................................. 296

SAVEPOINT ................................................................................................. 296

SELECT ......................................................................................................... 297

START TRANSACTION ............................................................................ 297

UPDATE ....................................................................................................... 297

D MySQL Datatypes 299

String Datatypes ......................................................................................... 300

Numeric Datatypes ................................................................................... 301

Date and Time Datatypes ....................................................................... 303

Binary Datatypes ....................................................................................... 304

E MySQL Reserved Words 305

Index 309

Preface

Introduction

MySQL has become one of the most popular database management systems in the world. From small development projects to some of the best-known and most prestigious sites on the Web, MySQL has proven itself to be a solid, reliable, fast, and trusted solution to all sorts of data storage needs.

This book is based on my best-selling Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes. That book has become one of the most-used SQL tutorials in the world, with an emphasis on teaching what you really need to know—methodically, systematically, and simply. But as popular and as successful as that book is, it does have some limitations:

• In covering all of the major DBMSs, coverage of DBMS-specific features and functionality had to be kept to a minimum.

• To simplify the SQL taught, the lowest common denominator had to be found—SQL statements that would (as much as possible) work with all major DBMSs. This requirement necessitated that better DBMS-specific solutions not be covered.

• Although basic SQL tends to be rather portable between DBMSs, more advanced SQL most definitely is not. As such, that book could not cover advanced topics, such as triggers, cursors, stored procedures, access control, transactions, and more, in any real detail.

And that is where this book comes in. MySQL Crash Course builds on the proven tutorials and structure of Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes, without getting bogged down with anything but MySQL. Starting with simple data retrieval and working on to more complex topics, including the use of joins, subqueries, regular expression and full text-based searches, stored procedures, cursors, triggers, table constraints, and much more. You'll learn what you need to know methodically, systematically, and simply—in highly focused chapters designed to make you immediately and effortlessly productive.

So turn to Chapter 1, and get to work. You'll be taking advantage of all MySQL has to offer in no time at all.

Who Is This Book For?

This book is for you if

• You are new to SQL.

• You are just getting started with MySQL and want to hit the ground running.

• You want to quickly learn how to get the most out of MySQL.

• You want to learn how to use MySQL in your own application development.

• You want to be productive quickly and easily using MySQL without having to call someone for help.

Companion Website

This book has a companion website online at http://forta.com/books/0672327120/. Visit the site to access

• Table creation and population scripts used to create the example tables used throughout this book

• Visit the online support forum

• Access online errata (should one be required)

• Find other books that may be of interest to you

Conventions Used in This Book

This book uses different typefaces to differentiate between code and regular English, and also to help you identify important concepts.

Text that you type and text that should appear on your screen is presented in monospace type. It looks like this to mimic the way text looks on your screen.

Placeholders for variables and expressions appear in monospace italic font. You should replace the placeholder with the specific value it represents.

This arrow (¬) at the beginning of a line of code means that a single line of code is too long to fit on the printed page. Continue typing all the characters after the ¬ as though they were part of the preceding line.

Note - A Note presents interesting pieces of information related to the surrounding discussion.

Tip - A Tip offers advice or teaches an easier way to do something.

Caution - A Caution advises you about potential problems and helps you steer clear of disaster.

Note - A New Term box provide clear definitions of new, essential terms.

/Input

The Input icon identifies code that you can type in yourself. It usually appears next to a listing.

/Output

The Output icon highlights the output produced by running MySQL code. It usually appears after a listing.

/Analysis

The Analysis icon alerts you to the author's line-by-line analysis of input or output.

© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.