MySQL is one of the most popular database management systems available, powering everything from Internet powerhouses to individual corporate databases to simple end-user applications, and everything in between. And this book will teach you all you need to know to be immediately productive with MySQL. By working through 30 highly focused hands-on lessons, your MySQL Crash Course will be both easier and more effective than you'd have thought possible.

 

Learn How To:

·         Retrieve and sort data

·         Filter data using comparisons, regular expressions, full text search, and much more

·         Join relational data

·         Create and alter tables

·         Insert, update, and delete data

·         Leverage the power of stored procedures and triggers

·         Use views and Cursors

·         Manage transactional processing

·         Create user accounts and manage security via access control

 

Ben Forta is Macromedia's Senior Technical Evangelist, and has almost 20 years of experience in the computer industry in product development, support, training, and product marketing. Ben is the author of the best-selling Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes (now in its third edition, and translated into over a dozen languages), ColdFusion Web Application Construction Kit, and Advanced ColdFusion Development (both published by Que Publishing), Sams Teach Yourself Regular Expressions in 10 Minutes, as well as books on SQL, Flash, JSP, HomeSite, WAP, Windows 2000, and other subjects.

If you are a MySQL user who wants to find out more about the program, but is not interested in becoming a database administrator just to be able to read books on MySQL, then MySQL Crash Course is for you. This tutorial-based book is organized into a series of short, easy-to-follow lessons that take a very hands-on approach to meeting the needs of the average MySQL user. The essentials of MySQL are taught through a series of self-paced lessons in which you will complete exercises that illustrate the most important aspects of MySQL. You will learn how to:

• Use the MySQL toolset.
• Use the aggregate functions to analyze data.
• Perform insert, update and delete operations.
• Combine queries using unions.
• Create and modify tables and access table schemas.
• Manage databases, users and security privileges.

Don't get bogged down in the database theory and relational design of other MySQL books. Let SQL Crash Course teach you what you need to know, when you need to know it, so you can quickly get on your way with MySQL.

Good for Beginners
As others have said, this is a great book for beginners, whether in MySQL or in databases in general. Because I have a lot of database experience, I went throught it very quickly.

When I started to apply some of the techniques I learned to existing applications, I found out VERY quickly that this is insufficient as a reference. Each topic has enough hands-on examples to give you a start, but not nearly enough depth to use for looking things up.

I thought that Appendix B on creating the sample tables might have been a little abbreviated for the novice user. It refers to Chapter 2 to create a new datasource, but I think it was a little confusing jumping back and forth between the appendix and the chapter. This might be better as an exercise right in the chapter.

Overall, I would recommend this book as a starting point.

A great book, easy to read, lots of information.
If MySQL will suite your needs then this book is for you. I read the book cover-to-cover in my downtime at work over a few days and walked away with a solid understanding of MySQL.
Unfortunately MySQL isn’t the most mature database solution, but if it’s good enough for your project, then this is a great resource.

a MYSQL book for a true beginner
You do not have to know anything about MYSQL or relational databases in order to start this book; a true novice can begin here. This book is desgined to get you up and running quickly. Although this book can also be used as a reference, it is intended as a series of hands on lessons. Forta’s Teach Yourself SQL is also good, but if you are using MYSQL, this is the one to get.

Perfect !!
I am a PHP guy not a database guy. I know what I want to do most of the time but I don’t know the exact syntax. This book is great, quick reference for just that. I use it probably 3-5 times a day. Great book for a reference!

a good start for mySQL
Great book to get you start into mysql. Very good examples and explanations. rather basic in some things, but overall it is worth the money. I got this book and O’Reilly’s "MySQL cookbook". A good combination, that got me started with MySQL in no time. Mind you, I knew all the relational database stuff and sql queries already, but didn’t know the specifics of MySQL. I was working with MS Access, but Access cannot handle large amounts of data I needed to upload for data mining projects. MySQL is just great -and free. These two books are excellent. I highly recommend them.

THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU (NOVICE TO EXPERIENCED)
ATTN: If you are a beginner, or if you just want to brush up on your MYSQL skills, then this is the book. I also purchased two other MYSQL books but they are not half as easy to read as this. Ben Forta is technical but explains everything in such a way that anyone could learn this stuff. He provides detailed examples in this book as well as well as GOOD explanations of how the code is to be used and why. THIS IS A VERY QUICK READING BOOK AND IF YOU NEED TO LEARN FAST, THEN WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR... BUY THE CHEAP BOOK!!

Ben Forta is G-d
Ben Forta is easily the most readable and to-the-point technical writer I know of. He includes all the right details at the right time. Example: all the books tell you how to do selects and how to create databases and tables, but the bury the simple detail of how to CONNECT to a database. Do you have any idea how many sql books neglect this extraordinarily important point? In ben’s book it’s right up front. And that’s only one example. Buy the book for yourself and see.

A good start but missing many parts
This is a good starter book, and I bought it thinking it would be a good supplement to O’Reilly’s Learning SQL version. Since I started with the O’Reilly version first, this book was relatively useless to me.

If you desire a book that takes you deeper into joins and specifics, this is not the one you want. This book is only good for a very low level of understanding and you would need many more examples with other books to fully understand the sql language and using it with MySQL.

As an alternative, Barnes and Nobles sells their published version of computer language and application books, I believe it is named SQL in Easy Steps, is a much better guide on the SQL language and using MySQL, but taught only through the command line unlike this book which suggests the Query Browser.

Right to the point - good started book.
All meat - no fluff. The book provides a thorough yet basic introduction to all of the important and esstenial features of MySQL 5. This book serves as an excellent starting point to understand what one needs to know in order to design robust databases.

Great Book For Beginners
I’ve previously stated that I am glad to see good books on advanced MySQL usage appearing such as Pro MySQL, High Performance MySQL and the like. Well, now there is a book that makes be glad to see good books for beginners: MySQL Crash Course by Ben Forta.

While experienced MySQL users should steer clear of this book, MySQL Crash Course is an excellent book for the beginner. It starts right from the basics, talking about what a database is, what SQL is, what MySQL is, then hits the ground running talking about constructing queries, sorting, using functions, etc.

The book has a good, easy to read format for each section that discusses the purpose of the section, shows a sample query, its output, and an analysis. The book wisely hides the advanced details not relevant to the beginner (such as no discussion of isolation levels in the section on transactions, just the basics of BEGIN, COMMIT, ROLLBACK, etc) and sticks to the facts for the version it is targeted against (MySQL 5.0, with sections on triggers and stored procedures).

It was nice to see that the book even covers areas such as the aforementioned stored procedures and triggers, along with views and basic maintenance and performance tuning sections.

All in all, MySQL Crash Course by Ben Forta looks like an excellent book for the beginning users just getting started with MySQL and perhaps SQL in general.

True to the Promise
Finally, a book on MySQL that actually works for the beginner. I’m a designer, not a developer. I need real world metaphors and clear definitions. Forta not only holds my hand, he speaks clearly. Excellent for those who need a "Crash Course".

Simply the Best
Anyone who wants to understand MySQL MUST buy this book. Even if you’re not the hard core programmer, but - like me - just "heavy uses" PHP/MySQL apps like the great "Drupal" CMS (http://www.drupal.org)! I have had quite some books on SQL, but this is the best introduction ever. Most books tend to be quite heavy on the reader, especially if you have to get to know MySQL while at the same time being busy with your every day job. This one however I started reading on a half hour plane ride, and finished off at night in front of the TV and in just that one single day I had found the key to MySQL! Go buy it!

Good learning resource
I needed a basic reference resource on MySQL. This book worked fine at a good price.

Databases and MySQL in a Simple, Easily-Understood Format
Ben Forta’s technical writing abilities have always turned seemingly complex material into an easily-understood format. He delivers yet again with his latest book, "MySQL Crash Course".

Ben explains why you should choose MySQL, how to install it, how to use it, and how to improve its performance.

But that’s just a portion of what this book covers. Ben also goes into detail on basic database design, SQL, Stored Procedures, Views, Triggers, Datatypes, all of course, geared toward MySQL.

I liked the SAMS format, and the "Tips" that went into even further detail on specific topics. I also thought the way he formatted the INPUT SQL code that went in, and the OUTPUT data that was generated. It made much clearer how his code actually worked.

Some of the detail in the book actually surprised me. It went into some of the more-complex table joins that you inevitably run into while working with databases and applications.
I didn’t find any filler material ... every page contained important, worthwhile information.

I’ll use this book not only as a MySQL resource, but also as a good reference for SQL and datatypes. Everything is well-organized, so you can quickly find what you need, and
get back to coding.

It’ll have its spot beside my other Forta books. Thank you for another great book Ben, and thanks for making programming much easier for me to understand!

Learn MySQL Quick!
If you’re new to MySQL, then this is the book for you. MySQL has proven itself to be a solid, reliable, fast, and trusted solution, and if your new to DBMS’s and want to start with MySQL than you need to start with this book.