Sebastopol, CA--At first take, MySQL lacks the glamour surrounding sexy Web 2.0 technologies. It is, after all, a database. But in fact, it serves as the backbone for much of what we see and use online, and as such--though lacking in sexiness--makes up for it in sturdiness, power, and flexibility. This explains why it's giving the two top deployed databases a run for their money, holding its own with millions of active MySQL installations, and tens of thousands of downloads per day.
Both experienced MySQL users and those dealing with their first installation have one thing in common: they face everyday programming dilemmas and data manipulation challenges that slow them down. These database developers and DBAs will find the answers they need in the new, second edition of MySQL Cookbook (O'Reilly, US $49.99) by Paul Dubois. "The book doesn't attempt to develop full-fledged, complex applications," says Dubois. "Instead, it assists you in developing applications yourself by helping you get past problems that have you stumped."
The book provides a wealth of recipes including how to access data from multiple tables at the same time, find matches or mismatches between rows in two tables, store images into MySQL and retrieve them for display in web pages, and much more. "Readers won't just find code, though," notes Dubois. "They'll get the explanations of how and why the code works so they can adapt the techniques to other similar situations."
Highlights:
- Serves as a timesaving resource that users can turn to when they need quick solutions or techniques for attacking particular types of questions that arise when using MySQL.
- Updated to cover MySQL 5.0/5.1 and its powerful new features, along with the older (but still widespread) MySQL 4.1.
- Shows ways of formulating queries with SQL using the mysql client program and methods for writing programs that interact with the MySQL server through an API.
- Includes many new examples for using Perl, Python, Java, and even Ruby (using the Ruby DBI module) to retrieve and display data.
- Also updated to include subqueries, views, stored routines, triggers, and events.
"Many people sense how powerful a tool MySQL is, but don't have a lot of training to draw on when faced with common database-related tasks," says Dubois. "This book provides the how-to that will enable them to solve problems and exploit MySQL more fully."
Paul Dubois was one of the first contributors to the online "MySQL Reference Manual," the documentation project that supported administrators and developers in the opening years of MySQL in the late 1990s. He's written several books on MySQL, including the first edition of MySQL Cookbook.
Background and Market Information:
http://del.icio.us/oreillymedia/mysqlcookbook
Additional Resources:
- More information about the book, including table of contents, index, author bio, and cover graphic
- An HTML version of this press release including cover
MySQL Cookbook, Second Edition
Paul Dubois
ISBN: 0-596-52708-X, 948 pages, $49.99 US, $64.99 CA
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