Sams Teach Yourself MySQL in 24 Hours

by Julie C. Meloni

Sams Teach Yourself MySQL in 24 Hours teaches the reader everything from basic installation to using MySQL in Web application development. First, the basic concepts of database design are taught, and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0672323494
• ISBN13: 9780672323492
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Sams Publishing
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.4" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

A solid introduction.

I'd like to counter some of the negative reviews of this book because a) many seem to miss the point of the book, and b) because I've found it to be quite useful. I'm not exactly the target audience, as I had some previous experience with an earlier version of MySQL. However, I managed to forget a whole lot and wanted a refresher course. Usually, when I see a book claiming to do anything in "24 hours", I'm pretty skeptical, but in this case, 24 hours is actually pretty conservative. Regardless of experience, I'm sure most readers will fly through the first eight or nine hours (or chapters) much faster. Lets address some of the criticisms: First, this is clearly an introductory book as the title suggest. Any expectation that this is somehow a reference book will be disappointed. This is not exhaustive, nor is it comprehensive. When first approaching something new, I don't appreciate being inundated with more detail than I can digest. I'd rather get up and running quickly before discovering the details. I believe the criticism that the book assumes you have MySQL installed and configured already is valid. The book does help you get installed, but it's conveniently not included in the "24 hours" portion of the book. In my experience, the installation and configuration is not straightforward at all and that WILL add time to your learning process. Overall, I feel that the book has enough information to be useful, but not so much that it overwhelms the beginner. I haven't read every introductory book on this topic, but I don't really feel like I need to because Meloni's book was entirely sufficient. Perhaps there's something better out there, but since I worked through this book quickly and with great success, I'd say it's just fine. Meloni's writing style is simple and concise. The one recommendation that I might make would be to purchase Meloni's "Teach Yourself PHP, MySQL, and Apache" instead. You don't get quite as much detail on MySQL itself, but you learn basically the same content, plus integration with PHP, which is what most people want to do anyway. Overall, I can safely recommend either book.

Great Introduction to MySQL

The book delivers what the author promised. It provides an introduction to MySQL, databases in general, and basics for using PHP and Perl with MySQL. The length of the chapters and the entire book are moderate. Not so much that you are overwhelmed but with substance for the beginner. This is a good book to get someone started. For the author - if there is a second edition remember that there are many Pythonists out here too! :-)

Great -- but work nonetheless....

If you're a beginner like me, you can't go wrong with this book. Just make sure you have some coffee made, and are ready to spend 48 hours instead of 24.....Overall, a great book!

Good Intro

Like Julie Meloni said, "Teach Yourself MySQL in 24 Hours" is designed for beginners. I picked it up with the intention of learning the basic MySQL commands so that hopefully I could write PHP scripts that interact with databases. Much to my surprise, this book not only gave me all the commands I could ever want, but it also provided chapters on using PHP and Perl with MySQL. One other plus, Meloni wrote this book at almost half the size of other introductory texts.

For beginners! Please read the table of contents or ask me.

I am the author of this book, and I am offsetting the negative review from the user in Japan and offering a little advice on book selection. First, I don't mind negative reviews; this is my 4th book and I've found that with books, as in life, one person may hate something and one person may find it to be the most wonderful thing they've ever laid their eyes on. As with any book whose purpose is for beginners to learn about a product, do not buy it if you are already using the product or if you want to learn one very specific thing. If the user in Japan had read the table of contents, he would have seen that this is not a book that will teach you how to connect to MySQL via JBDC or C++. That would be in a Java or a C++ book, or an advanced book on MySQL. Better yet, it's in the manual. Many times in this book -- which does have useful examples, expecially for a beginner -- the reader is told where to go for advanced information...namely, the MySQL manual, list, and elsewhere...Please choose wisely. This is not the be all and end all MySQL book, nor is it meant to be. But it will teach the fundamentals of database design, MySQL operations, MySQL administration and even connectivity with PHP and Perl...in 24 hours.Best, Julie.