SiteGroundTutorials
PHP/MySQLTutorial:HowtoUsePHPandMySQL?PHPisthemostpopularscriptinglanguageforwebdevelopment.Itisfree,opensourceandserverside
(thecodeisexecutedontheserver).MySQLisaRelationalDatabaseManagementSystem(RDBMS)that
usesStructuredQueryLanguage(SQL).Itisalsofreeandopensource.ThecombinationofPHPand
MySQLgivesunmetoptionstocreatejustaboutanykindofwebsitefromsmallcontactformtolarge
corporateportal.
ThisPHP/MySQLtutorialispartoftherichcollectionofwebhostingtutorialswhichSiteGroundexperts
havepreparedforyou.Findouthowtostartyourwebsite,howtopromoteit,howtodealwithcPanel,
webmailandFTP.
PHP/MySQLTutorialincludes:AshortintroductiononwhatisPHP
WhatisMySQLandwhatareitsbenefits
CreatingMySQLdatabaseanduserusefulinformationforinstallingaPHP/MySQLscriptonyour
website RemovingMySQLdatabaseanduser
LearnhowtomanageMySQLdatabaseswithphpMyAdminMySQLBackup/Restorefunctionality
andhowtouseMySQLAccessHost Creatingadatabasetable
Connectingtothedatabase Queryingthedatabase
DisplayingtabledatainHTML Selectingindividualrecords
HowtousetheMySQLGUItoolstobackup,restoreandexecutequeriesonyourdatabase
InformationaboutZendOptimizer LearnhowtoinstallPearmodules.
PHPTutorial
WhatisPHP?PHPwasatfirstcreatedasasimplescriptingplatformcalled"PersonalHomePage".NowadaysPHP(the
shortforHypertextPreprocessor)isanalternativeofMicrosoft'sActiveServerPages(ASP)technology.
PHPisanopensourceserversidelanguagewhichisusedforcreatingdynamicwebpages.Itcanbe
embeddedintoHTML.PHPisusuallyusedinconjunctionwitha
MySQLdatabaseonLinux/UNIXweb
servers.Itisprobablythemostpopularscriptinglanguage. PHPisawidely
usedgeneralpurposescriptinglanguageandinterpreterthatisfreelyavailable.Afull
explanationofallthePHPtags,completeusermanualandlotsoftutorialscanbefoundonthe
PHP's officialpage.
OneofthemostimportantthingsaboutusingPHPistohaveaPHPspecializedhost.Herearesome
ofthethingsweatSiteGroundareproudof:
WehavelongexperienceinprovidingtechnicalsupportforPHPbasedwebsites.Thanksto
itourserversareperfectlyoptimizedtoofferthebestoverallperformanceformostPHP
applications.
WeofferalotofFREEPHPtoolsincludingCMSsystems,forums,galleries,blogs,shopping
cartsandmore.
WeprovideseveralversionsofPHP(PHP5.0,PHP5.1,PHP5.2)onaperfolderbasis.
OurPHPhostingpackageisthebestofferonthemarketithasthelowestpriceforthequalityand
featuresitincludes.SignupnowforourProfessionalPHPHosting!
MySQLTutorial
WhatisMySQL?MySQLisafreelyavailableopensourceRelationalDatabaseManagementSystem(RDBMS)thatuses
StructuredQueryLanguage(SQL).
SQListhemostpopularlanguageforadding,accessingandmanagingcontentinadatabase.Itismost
notedforitsquickprocessing,provenreliability,easeandflexibilityofuse.MySQLisanessentialpartof
almosteveryopensourcePHPapplication.GoodexamplesforPHP/MySQLbasedscriptsare
phpBB, osCommerce,andJoomla.
OneofthemostimportantthingsaboutusingMySQListohaveaMySQLspecializedhost.Hereare
someofthethingsSiteGroundisproudof:
WehavelongexperienceinprovidingtechnicalsupportforMySQL
basedwebsites.Thanks
toitourserversareperfectlyoptimizedtoofferthebestoverallperformanceformost
MySQLapplications.
WeofferalotofFREEMySQLtoolsincludingCMSsystems,forums,galleries,blogs,
shoppingcartsandmore.
WesupportbothMySQL4andMySQL5.WeprovideunlimitedMySQLdatabases.
OurMySQLhostingpackageisthebestofferonthemarketithasthelowestpriceforthequality
andfeaturesitincludes.SignupnowforourProfessionalMySQLHosting!
MySQLTutorial:CreatingMySQLDatabaseandUserCheckouttheCreatingandModifyingMySQLDatabasesvideotutorial:
CreatingandModifyingMySQLDatabasesVideoTutorial
CreatingaMySQLDatabaseDetailedTutorialCreatingaMySQLdatabasewithcPanel,whichisincludedinallofSiteGround'shostingplans,canbe
easilyaccomplished.InordertocreateaMySQLdatabaseonyourhostingaccount,youneedtologin
thecPanel.Thiscanbedonebyeitherusingthe
GobuttonintheCustomerArea>MyAccount Accountsection:
orbyenteringthefollowingURLinyourwebbrowser:
http://yourdomainname.com/cpanel
http://cpanel.servername.comYoushouldreplace"yourdomainname.com"withyouractualdomainnameor"servername.com"withthehostname
oftheSiteGroundserveronwhichyouraccountishosted.
OnceyouhaveloggedinthecPanel,youcanaccesstheMySQLmanagementscreenbyclickingonthe
MySQLDatabasesbuttonasshownbelow.
InordertocreateanewdatabaseyouneedtoenterthedesirednameforthedatabaseintheNew
DatabasefieldandclickontheCreateDatabasebuttonasshownbelow:
Aconfirmationscreenwillbedisplayed,informingthatthedatabasehasbeensuccessfullycreated:
YoucanclickontheGoBackbuttontoreturntothedatabasemanagementscreen.TheMySQLdatabaseiscreatedwithyourusernameasprefix
username_databasename andthisisthename
youhavetouseforyourapplication.
CreatingaMySQLUsernameDetailedTutorialYoucancontinuewiththecreationofauserwhoshouldbeabletoconnecttothenewlycreated
database.Tocreateauseryoujustneedtofillinthedesiredusernameandpasswordasshowninthe
imagebelow:
ClickSubmittosaveyourMySQLusername.YoushouldalwaysbearinmindthatyourcPanelusernamewillbeaddedasaprefixtoalldatabasesand
usernamesyoucreate.
AddingausertoaMySQLDatabaseDetailedTutorialOncethedatabaseandtheusernamearecreated,youcanaddcertainprivilegesfortheusertothe
database.Inordertodosoyoushouldselectthembothfromthecorrespondingdropdownmenus
underAddUserToDatabaselabelandclickontheSubmitbutton:
Youwillberedirectedtoascreenwhereyouwillbepromptedtochoosethedesiredprivileges.Itis
advisabletoselectAllPrivilegesandclickontheMakeChangesbutton:
UsingtheMySQLDatabaseWizardAllofthestepsabovecanbeaccomplishedusingtheMySQLDatabaseWizard.Clickonitandyouwill
beguidedtroughallstepsthatyoushouldperforminordertosuccessfullycreateanewMySQL
databaseandaddausertoit.
CheckouttheUsingMySQLDatabasesWizardvideotutorial:
UsingMySQLDatabasesWizardVideoTutorial
MySQLTutorial:RemovingMySQLDatabaseandUser
RemovingPrivilegedUserfromadatabase
Ifyouwouldliketoremoveaprivilegeduserfromadatabaseyoucaneasilydosobyclickingonthe
correspondingbuttonnexttothedatabaseuserasshownbelow:
Aconfirmationmessagefortheremovalwillbedisplayed.Thismeansthattheusernamenolongerhas
anyprivilegestothedatabase.
RemovingaMySQLdatabaseIfyouwouldlikeaMySQLdatabaseremovedthiscanbeeasilyaccomplishedbyclickingontheDelete
DatabasebuttonundertheActionsarea:
Youwillgetaconfirmationscreenwhenthedatabaseisremoved.Notethatthisprocessisirreversibleandallthedatafromthisdatabasewillbelost.
RemovingaMySQLUserIfaMySQLusernameisnolongerneededyoucanremoveitbyclickingonthecorrespondingDelete
buttonundertheCurrentUsersarea:
Againaconfirmationscreenwillbeshownuponsuccessfulremoval.
MySQLTutorial
HowtoAccessandManageyourMySQLDatabasephpMyAdminTherearetwowaystoaccessandmanageyournewlycreateddatabase.Thefirstoneislocallythrough
theWebbasedmanagerphpMyAdmin,whichisaccessedfromthecPanelDatabasessection.
Anewpage/tabofyourbrowserwillopenandthephpMyAdminwillloadasshownbelow:
CheckouthowtomanageMySQLdatabasethroughphpMyAdminvideotutorial:
HowtoManageMySQLDatabaseThroughphpMyAdminVideoTutorial
WithphpMyAdminyoucancreateaMySQLbackupandrestoreit.
TheseconddatabasemanagementsolutionistoaddaMySQLaccesshostandallowaremoteMySQL
connection.
MySQLTutorial
MySQLExport:HowtobackupyourMySQLdatabase?Youcaneasilycreateadumpfile(export/backup)ofadatabaseusedbyyouraccount.Inordertodoso
youshouldaccessthephpMyAdmintoolavailableinyourcPanel:
ThephpMyAdmintoolwillbeloadedshortly.
YoucanselectthedatabasethatyouwouldliketobackupfromthedropdownmenucalledDatabase
(locatedintheupperleftcornerofthepage).
AnewpagewillbeloadedinphpMyAdminshowingtheselecteddatabase.Inordertoproceedwiththe
backupclickontheExporttab:
TheoptionsthatyoushouldselectapartfromthedefaultonesareSaveasfile(whichwillsavethefile
locallytoyourcomputerinan.sqlformat)and
AddDROPTABLE(whichwilladdthedroptable
functionalityifthetablealreadyexistsinthedatabasebackup)asshownbelow:
ClickontheGobuttontostarttheexport/backupprocedureforyourdatabase:
Adownloadwindowwillpopuppromptingfortheexactplacewhereyouwouldliketosavethefileon
yourlocalcomputer.Itispossiblethatthedownloadstartsautomatically.Thisdependsonyour
browser'ssettings.
MySQLImport:HowtorestoreyourMySQLdatabasefromabackupTorestore(import)adatabasevia
phpMyAdmin,firstchoosethedatabaseyou'llbeimportingdata
into.Thiscanbedonefromthedropdownmenuontheleft.ThenclicktheImporttab:
Youhavetheoptionofimportingan.sqlfile.UsetheBrowsebuttontofinditonyourlocalcomputer.
Notethatyouaregiventheoptiontochoosethecharactersetofthefilefromthedropdown
menujust
belowtheuploadbox.Ifyouarenotcertainaboutthecharactersetyourdatabaseisusingjustleavethe
defaultone.
InordertostarttherestoreclickontheGobuttonatthebottomright.Anotificationwillbedisplayed
uponasuccessfuldatabaseimport.
MySQLTutorial
AddingMySQLaccesshostsYoucanallowaccesstoMySQLdatabasesfromanexternallocationbyaddingitsdomainnameorIP
addresstothelistofhoststhatareallowedtoaccessyourdatabasesremotely.Additionally,ifyouwould
liketomanageyourdatabaseusinganapplicationforremotedatabasemanagement,theIPaddress
fromwhichtheconnectionisestablishedshouldbeaddedtothelistofallowedhosts.
InordertoaddallowedhostsyoushouldaccessthetoolviacPanel>RemoteMySQL:
IntheHostfieldyoushouldenterthedesireddomainnameorIPaddress:
ClickontheAddhostbutton.
Aconfirmationmessagewillinformthatthehostissuccessfullyadded.Nexttimeyouaccess
Remote MySQLthenewlyaddedhostwillbelistedunderAccessHosts.
PHP/MySQLTutorialCreatingadatabasetableBeforeyoucandoanythingwithyourdatabase,youshouldcreateatableandsetthecorresponding
fieldsinit.
CreatingatableinPHPMyAdminissimple.Justtypethename,selectthenumberoffieldsandclickthe
Gobutton.Youwillthenbetakentoasetupscreenwhereyoushouldcreatethefieldsforthedatabase.
Alternatively,youcanrunaMySQLquery,whichwillcreatethetable.Theformatis:
CREATETABLEtablename( Fields ) Thefieldsaredefinedasfollows:
fieldnametype(length)extrainfo, Thefieldsareseparatedbycomma.
Forexample,ifyouwishtocreateatablecalledMemberswith3fieldsinitFirstName,LastNameand
Age,youshouldexecutethefollowingquery: CREATETABLEMembers (
FirstNamevarchar(15), LastNamevarchar(15), Ageint )
Moreinformationonhowtoconnecttothedatabaseandhowtoqueryitcanbefoundinthefollowing
tutorials: Step2:Connecttothedatabase Step3:Querythedatabase
Step4:Displaytabledata Step5:Selectindividualrecords
PHP/MySQLTutorialPHPMySQLConnection
HowtoConnecttoYourDatabaseStep2:YoushouldestablishaconnectiontotheMySQLdatabase.Thisisanextremelyimportant
stepbecauseifyourscriptcannotconnecttoitsdatabase,yourqueriestothedatabasewillfail.
Agoodpracticewhenusingdatabasesistosettheusername,thepasswordandthedatabasename
valuesatthebeginningofthescriptcode.Ifyouneedtochangethemlater,itwillbeaneasytask.
$username="your_username" $password="your_password"
$database="your_database"
Youshouldreplace"your_username","your_password"and"your_database"withtheMySQLusername,
passwordanddatabasethatwillbeusedbyyourscript.
Atthispointyoumaybewonderingifitisasecurityrisktokeepyourpasswordinthefile.Youdon't
needtoworrybecausethePHPsourcecodeisprocessedbytheserverbeforebeingsenttothe
browser.Sothevisitorwillnotseethescript'scodeinthepagesource.
NextyoushouldconnectyourPHPscripttothedatabase.Thiscanbedonewiththe
mysql_connect PHPfunction:
mysql_connect(localhost,$username,$password)
ThislinetellsPHPtoconnecttotheMySQLdatabaseserverat'localhost'(localhostistheMySQLserver
whichusuallyrunsonthesamephysicalserverasyourscript).
Aftertheconnectionisestablishedyoushouldselectthedatabaseyouwishtouse.Thisshouldbea
databasetowhichyourusernamehasaccessto.Thiscanbecompletedthroughthefollowing
command: @mysql_select_db($database)ordie("Unabletoselectdatabase")
IttellsPHPtoselectthedatabasestoredinthevariable$database(inourcaseitwillselectthedatabase
"your_database").Ifthescriptcannotconnectitwillstopexecutingandwillshowtheerrormessage:
Unabletoselectdatabase
The'ordie'partisusefulasitprovidesdebuggingfunctionality.However,itisnotessential.
AnotherimportantPHPfunctionis: mysql_close()
Thisisaveryimportantfunctionasitclosestheconnectiontothedatabaseserver.Yourscriptwillstill
runifyoudonotincludethisfunction.AndtoomanyopenMySQLconnectionscancauseproblemsfor
youraccount.ThisitisagoodpracticetoclosetheMySQLconnectiononceallthequeriesareexecuted.
Youhaveconnectedtotheserverandselectedthedatabaseyouwanttoworkwith.Youcanstart
queryingthedatabasenow. Step3:Querythedatabase
Step4:Displaytabledata Step5:Selectindividualrecords
PHP/MySQLTutorialPHPMySQLConnection
HowtoQuerytheDatabaseStep3:Thereareatleasttwowaystoqueryadatabase.Oneisto
enterthecommandin PHP. Anotherwayistodefinethecommandasavariable.
Inthispartofthetutorialwewillshowthefirstway.Thecommandwilllooklikethis:
mysql_query($query)
Thecommandcanberepeatedoverandoveragaininthesourcecode.Allyouneedtodoistochange
thevariable.
HereisthecompletecodethatshouldbeusedtocreateaMySQLtableinPHP:
Enteryourdatabase,MySQLusernameandMySQLpasswordintheappropriatepositionsonthefirst
threelinesabove. Thenextqueryshouldfillinthetable.Hereisasampleone:
$query="INSERTINTOtablenameVALUES
('','$field1name','$field2name','$field3name','$field4name','$field5name')"
Youcan'tinsertmorevaluesthanthenumberoffieldsyouhavecreatedwiththefirstquery.
Step4:Displaytabledata Step5:Selectindividualrecords
PHP/MySQLTutorialPHPMySQLConnection
HowtoDisplayMySQLTableData?Step4:Afteryouhavecreatedthetableandenteredthedata,youwillprobablyneedtodisplay
it.ThisisusuallydoneusingbasicHTMLcodewhichinvokesaPHPscript.
Wewillstarttheexamplefromthebeginning.Wewillpopulateanewdatabasetablewithdata.
ThefollowingHTMLcodewillcollectthedatafromthetextboxesandpassittothePHPscript:
Value1:
Value2:
Value3:
Value4:
Value5:
ThenextthingyouneedisanewPHPscriptwhichwillenterthedatainthedatabase.
