phpMyAdmin is an open source tool written in PHP. It handles the administration of MySQL over the World Wide Web (WWW). It can perform various tasks, such as creating, modifying, or deleting databases, tables, fields, or rows. It can also execute SQL statements and manage users and their permissions. When it comes to exploiting phpMyAdmin to its full potential, even experienced developers and system administrators search for tutorials to accomplish their tasks.
Mastering phpMyAdmin 3.3.x for Effective MySQL Management is an easy-to-read, step-by-step practical guide that walks you through every facet of this legendary tool—phpMyAdmin—and takes you a step ahead in taking full advantage of its potential. This book is filled with illustrative examples that will help you to understand every phpMyAdmin feature in detail.
This book jump starts with installing and configuring phpMyAdmin, and then looks into phpMyAdmin's features. This is followed by configuring authentication in phpMyAdmin, and setting parameters that influence the interface as a whole. You will first create two basic tables, and then edit and delete data, tables, and databases. As backups are crucial to a project, you will create up-to-date backups and take intermediary snapshots during development and production phases. Then you will look into importing the data that you have exported. You will also explore the various search mechanisms, and query across multiple tables.
Then, you will learn some advanced features, such as defining inter-table relations and installing the linked-tables infrastructure. Some queries are out of the scope of the interface; you will enter SQL commands to accomplish these tasks.
You will also learn some new features introduced in version 3.3.x, such as synchronizing databases on different servers, and managing MySQL replication in order to improve performance and data security. You will also store queries as bookmarks for their quick retrieval. Towards the end of the book you will learn to document your database, track changes made to the database, and manage user accounts using phpMyAdmin server management features.
This book is an upgrade from the previous version that covered phpMyAdmin Version 3.1. Version 3.3.x introduced features such as new import and export modules, tracking changes, synchronizing structure and data between servers, providing support for replication.
Chapter1, Getting Started with phpMyAdmin, gives us the reasons why we should use phpMyAdmin as a means of managing MySQL databases. It then covers the downloading and installation procedures for phpMyAdmin.
Chapter 2, Configuring Authentication and Security, provides an overview of various authentication types used in phpMyAdmin. It then covers the security issues related to the phpMyAdmin installation.
Chapter 3, Over Viewing the Interface, gives us an overview of the phpMyAdmin interface. This includes the login panel, the navigation and main panels in both Light mode and Full mode, and the Query window.
Chapter 4, Taking First Steps, is all about database creation. It teaches us how to create a table, how to insert data manually, and how to sort the data.
Chapter 5, Changing Data and Structure, covers the various aspects of data editing in phpMyAdmin. It teaches us how to handle NULL values, multi-row editing, and data deletion. Finally, it explores the subject of changing the structure of tables, focusing on editing field attributes and index management.
Chapter 6, Exporting Structure and Data (Backup), deals with backups and exports. It lists various ways to trigger an export, available export formats, the options associated with export formats, and the various places where the export files can be sent.
Chapter 7, Importing Structure and Data, tells us how to bring back exported data that was created for backup and transfer purposes. It covers the various options available in phpMyAdmin to import data, and different mechanisms involved in importing SQL and CSV files. Finally, it covers the limitations that may be faced while importing files, and the ways to overcome these limitations.
Chapter 8, Searching Data, presents the mechanisms that are useful for searching data effectively.
Chapter 9, Performing Table and Database Operations, covers ways to perform some operations that influence and can be applied on entire tables or databases as a whole. Finally, it deals with table maintenance operations for table repair and optimization.
Chapter 10, Benefiting from the Relational System, is where we start covering the advanced features of phpMyAdmin. The chapter explains how to define inter-table relations. It also explains how to install the linked-tables infrastructure—a prerequisite for the advanced features.
Chapter 11, Entering SQL Commands, teaches us how to enter our own SQL commands. The chapter also covers the Query window—the window used to edit an SQL query. Finally, it also shows us how to obtain the history of typed commands.
Chapter 12, Generating Multi-table Queries, covers the multi-table query generator, which allows us to produce these queries without actually typing them.
Chapter 13, Synchronizing Data and Supporting Replication, teaches us how to synchronize databases on the same server, or from one server to another one. It then covers how to manage MySQL replication.
Chapter 14, Using Bookmarks, covers one of the features of the linked-tables infrastructure. It explains how to record bookmarks and how to manipulate them. Finally, it covers how to pass parameters to bookmarks.
Chapter 15, Documenting the System, gives an overview of how to produce documentation that explains the structure of a database, by using the tools offered by phpMyAdmin.
Chapter 16, Transforming Data Using MIME, explains how to apply transformations to data in order to customize its format at view time.
Chapter 17, Supporting MySQL 5.0 and 5.1, covers phpMyAdmin's support for the MySQL features that are new in these versions.
Chapter 18, Tracking Changes, teaches us how to record structure and data changes done from the phpMyAdmin interface.
Chapter 19, Administrating the MySQL Server with phpMyAdmin, is about the administration of a MySQL server, focusing on user accounts and privileges. The chapter discusses how a system administrator can use phpMyAdmin's server management features for day-to-day user account maintenance, server verification, and server protection.
Appendix A, The History of phpMyAdmin, provides a history of the project, from its roots back in 1998 through the project re-launch in 2001, and its subsequent evolution.
Appendix B, Troubleshooting and Support, explains how to troubleshoot phpMyAdmin by examining some of its error messages, and proposing appropriate solutions. It also explains how to interact with the development team for support, bug reports, and contributions.