Mastering Phpmyadmin 3.4 for Effective Mysql Management [Brossura]

If you've used MySQL on any shared hosting platform, you've likely done your database administration with some version of phpMyAdmin, an application developed in PHP with some JavaScript providing UI polish. Mastering phpMyAdmin is an ideal resource.

The book is very well organized, and provides a good introduction to MySQL while it covers phpMyAdmin in detail, so it works well as both the "missing manual" for phpMyAdmin and as a resource for anyone wanting to learn MySQL. The text is well-paced and consistently good at explaining what is occurring when a particular phpMyAdmin operation is invoked.

There are a few awkward phrases here and there in the text that I suspect betray the fact that English is not the author's first language (e.g. telling people that we are "over viewing" a topic), however such instances are few, and the quality of the English writing overall is very good. I just wish the text used "you" instead of "we" when explaining everything since the latter doesn't seem as natural to me.

The first two chapters cover the details of how to install and configure phpMyAdmin (including how to secure it), and chapter three takes you through everything you need to know about the user interface. Subsequent chapters deal with how to manipulate MySQL databases using phpMyAdmin, however the author does not give a dry screen-capture run-through of all the screens. He instead explains the purpose of them with practical examples.

Chapters four and five introduce creating and manipulating MySQL tables, and a provides good explanations of basic column types.

Chapters six and seven take you through exporting and importing data with detailed examples and explanations of the various import and export types.

Chapters eight and nine introduce database queries and table operations.

Chapter ten introduces relational operations, referential integrity, and alternative storage engines.

Chapters eleven and twelve introduces SQL syntax, the query window, multi-table queries, and the (new to me) visual query builder that became available in version 3.4 of phpMyAdmin.

Chapter thirteen gets into synchronizing and replicating databases, and setting up a test environment.

Chapter fourteen introduces query bookmarks.

Chapter fifteen deals with phpMyAdmin features for documenting your database system

Chapter sixteen shows you how to transform the display format of your MySQL quey results using MIME.

Chapter seventeen looks at how phpMyAdmin supports new MySQL 5 features (views, stored procedures, triggers, partitions, scheduler, etc.)

Chapter eighteen covers phpMyAdmin support for logging transaction.

Chapter nineteen covers server administration tasks.

Mastering phpMyAdmin provides complete coverage of the phpMyAdmin application, and is a great introdcution to MySQL for novices. It really is the "missing manual" for phpMyAdmin (I find the documentation on the phpMyAdmin website too spartan).

phpMyAdmin exists for you to run a MySql database via PHP commands, but also by doing so thru a web interface. In part this is because the web page paradigm is so dominant. But also because MySql for all its power is rather awkward to directly deal with, unless you are already expert in it. Yes, I know that sounds a little circular, because it certainly is. Breaking out of that rough input impedance is why this book teaches phpMyAdmin.

There are many general purpose settings that you can configure. Chapter 3 walks through the most important of these. You also need to learn the syntax of the directives that control the settings. The notation is not the most concise, but at least as evidenced by the book's examples, it can be fairly self documenting. Speaking of general settings, one of the nicest is surely the ability to pick your language. The labels and other online help have been i18n to the major languages.

But perhaps the most common administration activities you'll need relate to editing and deleting data in a table - or rather, in a subset of a table. Typically this will be in a single row. Then multiple rows. The text shows that this is straightforward. More complex tasks are possible - like changing the structure of an existing table. A common operation is to add a column and edit its attributes. Via phpMyAdmin, all this is possible.

Note that the author assumes that you are already versed in the theory of relational databases and in the syntax of SQL. Given this, you can treat the entire text as a nice GUI front end to avoid as much as possible a direct editing of SQL commands. The GUI makes it easier and less error prone.

The text also roams into ancillary topics that are not strictly SQL, but which are largely unavoidable. There is a brief walkthrough of XML, LaTex, CSV and PDF. As a database administrator, you may well run into these, when gathering input data into your MySql tables.

But perhaps the nicest features are in Chapter 12, which deals with advanced issues of multi-table queries. You can make automatic joins. And there is a visual builder tool that provides a very intuitive means of making a long query.

This book is really a good read. First off all, it will guide your through all the odds and ends of phpMyAdmin. In case you have never ever worked with this tool before, there is no better place to start.

Marc shows various aspects of phpMyAdmin basing his book on a tutorial like convention. All you have to do is to understand what he says, and follow his steps. This way, after reading the book, you will have your own copy of phpMyAdmin ready to go. As this book is an easy to follow by beginners it may be slightly boring for advanced phpMyAdmin admins who are looking for phpMyAdmin reference.

I am giving five here, even though I would expect more condensed content. However, this book is advertised (at the cover) as book for beginners. It is exactly as cover says - the book is an easy, gentle, and comprehensive introduction to phpMyAdmin.