University of Somalia (UNISO)

Faculty of Engineering & Computer Science

COURSE: PHP AND MYSQL

Chapter 4: Introduction to
MYSQL
Eng. Ismail Mohamed Jamal
MCSE (Master of Computer Science & Engineering)
Ondokuz Mayis University- Turkiye (OMU)
Email: engismailmj@gmail.com

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Introduction

• MySQL is the world’s most popular open-source database application

(according to MySQL’s Web site, www.mysql.com) and is commonly
used with PHP.

• The MySQL software comes with the database server (which stores
the actual data), different client applications (for interacting with the
database server), and several utilities.

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 Naming Data
Base element

• Before you start working with databases, you have to identify

your needs. The purpose of the application (or Web site, in
this case) dictates how the database should be designed.

• With that in mind, the examples in this chapter and the next
will use a database that stores some user registration
information.

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Cont.

When creating databases and tables, you should come up with names
(formally called identifiers) that are clear, meaningful, and easy to type. Also,
identifiers:

◆ Should only contain letters, numbers, and the underscore (no spaces)

◆ Should not be the same as an existing keyword (like an SQL term or a

function name)

◆ Should be treated as case-sensitive

◆ Cannot be longer than 64 characters (approximately)

◆ Must be unique within its realm

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name a database’s elements:

1. Determine the database’s name

2. Determine the table names.
3. Determine the column names for each table.
Let’s us design users table as an example.

Column Name

User_ID

First_Name

Last_Name

Email

Pass

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hoosing your column types

Once you have identified all of the tables and columns that the database
will need, you should determine each column’s data

type. When creating a table, MySQL requires that you explicitly state what
sort of information each column will contain. There are three primary
types, which is true for almost every database application:

◆ Text (aka strings)

◆ Numbers

◆ Dates and times

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Other MySQL Data types

CHAR[Length], VARCHAR[Length], TINYTEXT, TEXT,

MEDIUMINT, MEDIUMINT[Length], BIGINT[Length],

FLOAT[Length, Decimals], DOUBLE[Length, Decimals],

DECIMAL[Length, Decimals], DATE, DTETIME, TIMESTAMP,

TIME.

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o select the column types:

1. Identify whether a column should be a text, number, or

date/time type.
Column Name Type

User_ID Number

First_Name Text

Last_Name Text

Email Text

Pass Text

RegDate Date/time

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Cont.

2. Choose the most appropriate subtype for each column.

3. Set the maximum length for text columns
Column Name Type

User_ID MEDIUMINT

First_Name VARCHAR(15)

Last_Name VARCHAR(40)

Email VARCHAR(40)

Pass CHAR(40)

RegDate Date/time

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Char Vs. Varchar

• Both of these types store strings and can be set with a

maximum length.

• One primary difference between the two is that anything

stored as a CHAR will always be stored as a string the length
of the column (using spaces to pad it; these spaces will be
removed when you retrieve the stored value from the
database). Conversely,

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Cont.

• strings stored in a VARCHAR column will require only as much

space as the string itself.

• So the word cat in a VARCHAR(10) column requires four bytes

of space (the length of the string plus 1), but in a CHAR(10)

column, that same word requires 10 bytes of space.

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Tips

• The TIMESTAMP field type is automatically set as the current

date and time when an INSERT or UPDATE occurs, even if no

value

• is specified for that particular field. If a table has multiple

TIMESTAMP columns, only the first one will be updated when

an INSERT or UPDATE is performed.

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oosing other column properties

• First, every column, regardless of type, can be defined as NOT NULL.

The NULL value, in databases and programming, is equivalent to

saying that the field has no value.

• Ideally, in a properly designed database, every column of every row in

every table should have a value, but that isn’t always the case.

• To force a field to have a value, add the NOT NULL description to its

column type. For example, a require dollar amount can be described

as cost DECIMAL(5,2) NOT NULL

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Cont.

• When creating a table, you can also specify a default value for any

column, regardless of type. In cases where a majority of the records will

have the same value for a column, presetting

• a default will save you from having to specify a value when inserting

new rows (unless that row’s value for that column is

different from the norm).

• With the gender column, if no value is specified when adding a record,

the default will be used.

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Cont.

• If a column does not have a default value and one is not

specified for a new record, that field will be given a NULL

value. However, if no value is specified and the column is

defined as NOT NULL, an error will occur.

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Cont.

• Finally, when designing a database, you’ll need to consider

creating indexes, adding keys, and using the
AUTO_INCREMENT property.

• Chapter 6 discusses these concepts in greater detail, but in

the meantime, check out the sidebar “Indexes, Keys, and
AUTO_INCREMENT” to learn how they affect the users table.

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finish defining your columns:

1. Identify your primary key.

2. Identify which columns cannot have a NULL value.

3. Make any numeric type UNSIGNED if it won’t ever store

negative numbers.

4. Establish the default value for any column.

5. Confirm the final column definitions

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exes, Keys, and AUTO_INCREMENT

• Two concepts closely related to database design are indexes and keys. An
index in a database is a way of requesting that the database keep an eye
on the values of a specific column or combination of columns (loosely
stated).

• A key in a database table is integral to the normalization process used for

designing more complicated databases.

• There are two types of keys: primary and foreign.

• Each table should have one primary key, and the primary key in one
table is often linked as a foreign key in another.

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Any Questions?

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