What is MySQL?
• MySQL is an SQL based relational database management system that runs on more than 20 platforms including Windows, Linux, OS/X, HP-UX and many more.
• The owner and producer of MySQL is a Swedish company called MySQL AB. They provide services and training programs for MySQL users. The software’s official website http://www.mysql.com gives the latest information about the company and MySQL.
• MySQL is declared the world’s most popular open source database by its founders: “It’s used in more than 6 million installations ranging from large corporations to specialized embedded applications on every continent in the world. (Yes, even Antarctica!).” www.mysql.com
• The reasons for its popularity are: It is free and open source! Users can download the code for free and modify it according to their needs.
Its consistent fast performance. Speed is crucial in database driven applications since the time it takes for the user to see the result of a query is the main performance measure for the application.
High reliability. Every release of MySQL is heavily tested by users and developers all over the world since it is free of charge and open source. Ease of use. The main interaction with the MySQL server is through SQL commands which are easy to master!
It is supported by PHP (more on this later).
• A brief history of the software, its name and its logo from its founders at http://dev.mysql.com: “We started out with the intention of using mSQL to connect to our tables using our own fast low-level (ISAM) routines. However, after some testing, we came to the conclusion that mSQL was not fast enough or flexible enough for our needs. This resulted in a new SQL interface to our database but with almost the same API interface as mSQL. This API was designed to allow third-party code that was written for use with mSQL to be ported easily for use with MySQL.

Download pdf PHP & MySQL Lab 1