Since I have not used MySQL for about 5 years, which was 3.23, I decided it was time to pick up a new book since I now have the need to work with 4.1. There are two main items that stood out when I skimmed this book for the first time. It covers PERL, and PHP. I’m a huge PERL enthusiast, and now have the need to learn some PHP, so it looks like we’re off to a good start.

I really like how well written the intro was. It does a fine job of giving a good overview about what the book will cover, and what to expect. This is something that normally seems to be lacking, leaving the reader to search through the Table of Contents and the index.

Since I know a good bit about programming, I was fairly interested in the Administration section, since that is an area that most programming manuals omit. The book seems to cover enough detail to maintain and keep the server operating in good health, which is good, because after all is said and done, I should have a table with millions of records in a short amount of time, and the last thing I want is to have is a problem.

I think this is a fine book for novices as well as the more seasoned developer. For the novice, the basic DB terminology is covered nicely in the “Getting Started with MySQL and SQL” Chapter of the book. The only thing I would have liked to see him go into more detail on is the GUI admin interfaces. He does mention that they are still new, which is why he did not cover them, but I disagree. PHPMyAdmin and MySQLMan have been around for years, and can be used to create a database and tables much more quickly than working from the command line.

I really like how he works through the reasoning for using multiple relational tables to prepare for future growth. I see poor structure problems on a daily basis. Databases that were designed with no future plans in mind, which end up with a group of tables that are all loosely related, storing much of the same information. This is defiantly a good section for beginners to read, because, if followed, it will save a lot of time in the long run.

Reviewing the “Writing MySQL Programs Using PERL” Chapter, I was not disappointed. Eight years ago when I first used PERL and MySQL together, I had three books, combined, that covered most of what he does here. The PHP Chapter looks just as detailed. I should know more in a few weeks, after I’ve had a chance to dig in.

In the Administration Chapter I was especially impressed with his scenario on how to steal data. This definitely got my attention, and will affect how I set things up from the start. Normally, from what I have seen many places, network security issues are addressed, but pretty much anybody can access the database if they are on the LAN.

In “Obtaining and Installing Software” I was again, pleasantly surprised. The chapter covers great detail about how to get MySQL and various programming environments installed and configured. Just one more reason it’s a must have for beginners.

I really debated on whether to give this book a 5. I don’t normally think that anything is deserving of a perfect score, but since my choices were 4 or 5, I felt that this book deserved a higher rating than a 4. Overall, I’m very impressed with the writing and the detail.