Load Up a Database
So now we're ready to plug in MySQL. One handy way of knowing what options are available in PHP and
what's going on in your server is to use the phpinfo() function. Create a script with the following:
<html>
<body>
<?php phpinfo(); ?>
</body>
</html>
Save and view this script through your Web server. You'll see a page filled with useful and interesting
information like this. This info tells all about your server, internal Web server environment variables, the
options that are compiled, and on and on. In the first section, Extensions, look for a line beginning with
MySQL. If this is missing, then for some reason MySQL hasn't made it into PHP. Go back and review the
installation steps and check the PHP documentation to see if you missed anything.
If MySQL is there, then you're ready to roll.
Before we can get data out of MySQL, we have to put data in it. There's really no easy way to do it at this
stage. Most PHP scripts come with what's known as a dump file that contains all the data required to
create and populate a MySQL database. The ins and outs of this process are really outside the scope of
this tutorial, so I'll just do it for you.
MySQL uses its own user permissions table. At setup, a default user (root) is automatically created with no
password. It's up to the database administrator to add other users with various permissions, but I could
write a whole other article on that, so we'll stick with using the root user. If you set up your own server
and database, it's vital that you assign a password to the root user.
Anyway, let's get on with the database. For Win32 users, I'm sorry, but this requires some DOS work. You'll
have to use a DOS window or type everything in the Ru n window. Don't forget to type in the path to the
location of the MySQL/bin directory with your commands. Unix users can work from the MySQL bin
directory, but you may have to start each command with ./ so the programs run.
The first thing we need to do is create the actual database. From the command line, type:
mysqladmin -u root create mydb
That creates a database called "mydb." The flag tells MySQL that we're doing this as the root user.
Next we'll add some data using everyone's favorite example, the employees database. We're going to need
that dump file I mentioned earlier. If you're interested in how it goes together, review the manual that
comes with MySQL or check out http://www.turbolift.com/mysql/.
Copy and paste the following text to a file and save it in MySQL's bin directory. (I'll call the file
mydb.dump.)
CREATE TABLE employees ( id tinyint(4) DEFAULT '0' NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT, first varchar(20), last
varchar(20), address varchar(255), position varchar(50), PRIMARY KEY (id), UNIQUE id (id));INSERT
INTO employees VALUES (1,'Bob','Smith','128 Here St, Cityname','Marketing Manager');
INSERT INTO employees VALUES (2,'John','Roberts','45 There St , Townville','Telephonist');
INSERT INTO employees VALUES (3,'Brad','Johnson','1/34 Nowhere Blvd, Snowston','Doorman');
If the lines wrap, make sure that each insert statement is on a new line. Now we'll insert it into the mydb
database. From the command line, type:
mysql -u root mydb < mydb.dump
You shouldn't get any errors doing this. If you do, check for incorrect line wrapping.
Posted in: PHP/MySQL Tutorial
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