MySQL Reference Manual

From Barnes & Noble

MySQL Reference Manual is nothing if not authoritative -- but unlike some “official” guides, it never sacrifices candor (or the developers’ strong viewpoints about transactions and other matters). You’ll find insider’s explanations of why MySQL errors occur and how to avoid and recover from them; as well as the best guidance available for optimizing performance (including insights into MySQL’s design limitations and trade-offs, and practical information for benchmarking).

The authors walk you through MySQL installation under Linux and Windows; basic database creation, connections, and queries; using MySQL with Apache; configuration; user accounts; and security (including using SSL to protect the mysqld server daemon process, not just traffic between browsers and servers). You’ll find detailed coverage of disaster prevention/recovery; replication; and MySQL’s library of administration tools and scripts. Along the way, the authors introduce each significant new feature, including bulk INSERTs; searching on packed indexes; creation of FULLTEXT indexes; row-level locking; the newly added UNION SQL statement; multi-table DELETEs; and more.

MySQL keeps getting more robust, more full-featured, and more flexible -- both from a technical and licensing standpoint. If you want to make the most of it, start right here. (Bill Camarda)

Bill Camarda is a consultant, writer, and web/multimedia content developer. His 15 books include Special Edition Using Word 2000 and Upgrading & Fixing Networks For Dummies®, Second Edition.