MySQL is the most widely used database management language. With this program even inexperienced programmers can create and modify databases consisting of multiple tables. For example, a database for a personnel-staffing organization might contain several tables including a table of available jobs, a table of available employers, and a table of staffing consultants. Databases that drive real-life applications often consist of dozens and dozens of interrelated tables. It simply does what it takes to generate such databases and manage them efficiently. Combined with PHP and Apache or alternative software MySQL runs on the Internet. The personnel staffing organization could provide many of its services on the Internet relying on this database management system.



Don't let anyone tell you that learning this application is a piece of cake. Like any other programming language, mastering MySQL is by no means a simple task. In spite of promises that abound, you won't become a master in 48 hours. Furthermore, most MySQL solutions also involve PHP. So let's take a closer look at why you should make the commitment to learn this software. But first a word of encouragement, you won't have to master this extensive language to see the benefits.

Let's look briefly at what you need to develop and test MySQL programs. After all, you can't learn to program without running and debugging (finding the errors in) real programs. The good news is that it is free. You can download it along with other useful applications for free. We recommend that you start with MySQL4 unless you are an experienced programmer. Later on you can move up to version 5. The rest of this article talks mostly about MySQL4. A companion article will discuss version 5.

This program can run on old computers. For example, I downloaded it, copied it to a USB pen drive, and then copied the files, less than 60 Megabytes, into a Pentium computer purchased new in August, 1999. I couldn't run MySQL under Windows 98 because the system didn't recognize my USB drive. But I ran it under Windows 2000 on this computer, which had an Internet browser but no live Internet connection. Moral of the story: You can do MySQL even on outdated computers.

So you can do MySQL. Why should you? First of all, it is open source. Free. Why pay big bucks for Microsoft or other competitive products? You won't be alone in this decision; MySQL and its friends are the most popular kids on the block. And it's popular with a wide range of users from novices to hard-nosed professionals whose careers depend on performance. Version 4 provides all the functionality needed to develop a wide range of small to medium database management applications.

MySQL is fast and flexible. Many claim that for technical reasons it runs faster than its competitors including the Microsoft offerings. These programs can be moved from the Windows environment to the Linux environment and still run. Word to the wise: If want to use Linux you must pay strict attention to capitalization. Linux treats File1 and file1 as two different files while Windows considers them to be the same file. If you are totally strict in the use of lower-case and capital letters, it's very easy to move your web pages from Windows to Linux servers.