MySQL(TM): The Complete Reference

Note: This book only covers through MySQL 4.1, so I would recommend another book if you plan on moving 2 MySQL 5.0 or higher (which you should).

This is a good introduction 4 MySQL users who have not read through a MySQL book before, & need somebody 2 help them work through reasonably complicated concepts in plain English. It's also a good book 4 people who have worked through online documentation but want 2 integrate the bits & pieces they've picked up from other places.

It has copious & easy-to-follow examples, & if you read it through, you will become confident using MySQL's basic & intermediate functionalities.

This book is not as good when it gets 2 more advanced topics. Part of that is due 2 the fact that it only covers MySQL through version 4.1, so many of the more advanced features in verison 5.0 like stored procedures & triggers are not covered at all (nor is the mysqli extension 4 PHP covered in the PHP section of the book). Also, a number of features that were available in 4.1, like transactions, are not covered in enough detail. For example, while a basic example of a transaction is given, I don't think that this book contains enough real-world examples 4 determining what specific transaction isolation level one would choose in a given circumstance. The discussion of isolation levels relies on theoretical graphs instead.

For a current purchaser, I'd give this 3 stars - good 4 a beginner or intermediate reader, not as good 4 an advanced reader. I would give it 4 stars but it's out of date so I wouldn't recommend it 4 most current purchasers.

This book provides a good & clear overview of the subject of MySQL. This is a thick book that covers a lot of material. The last Chapters even provided introductions 2 application development with C, PERL & PHP. MySQL: The complete Reference really seemed like an actual complete reference. While it may not go 2 deep into every subject it does at least briefly cover each topic. Most of the focus was on SQL (Structured Query Language) though.

There were only a few minor issues with this book aside from minor grammatical errors. For one thing, you would occasionally have 2 modify the sample tables before you could even start the exercise. Also, it would have been nice having more sample tables & data so I could follow along in more of the examples. Frequently, my result set wouldn't quite match the one in the book. Additionally, some of the command wouldn't even execute or would return an error message. Lastly, the chapters on development were pretty useless unless you are already familiar with one of the languages.

But, I believe many of the above problems where because of version differences & the fact that I was running MySQL on windows. Although windows instructions were given as well the book examples were still more oriented towards a UNIX installation. Also, MySQL would be several versions newer on my computer. I believe that made a difference on some of the results as well. And 4 windows administration its better just 2 use one of the suggested GUI programs since many of the commands were difficult 2 run from the command prompt.

So, I wasn't quite able 2 follow along with all the examples 4 one reason or another. Nevertheless, there were still plenty of quality examples I could follow along in. In addition, there was still a lot 2 learn from just reading through the material. Overall, this book works well as a reference or 4 working the Chapters in order. Even though the book's user level isn't indicated I believe it provides a fine introduction 4 a beginner.

I've learned a lot from Vaswani. I think he has done an outstanding job of cataloging & summarizing MySQL. You can go 2 the very good index & find a few references, then find what you need. To me, a good index is a top priority, & Vaswani did a pretty good job with the index.

I did find a few subjects which need more depth, but most subjects were covered well enough 2 answer my questions.

This 4 star rating is from the perspective of a beginning 2 intermediate web application developer. My purpose in buying this book was 2 get from a basic SQL knowledge (via a local community college Oracle class) 2 a better understanding of MySQL, 2 use with PHP etc. I am not a systems administrator & have no desire 2 be one. Just wanted 2 use MySQL on a couple business projects, & MySQL Complete Reference has definitely helped.

I think it is an excellent choice 4 a beginning 2 intermediate LAMP or MySQL application developer. For an application developer, I highly recommend it.

This is a useless book, perhaps this could be useful 4 a newbie 2 know what MySQL is. I never recommend this book even 4 a moderate developer.

This book doesn't solve the issue or DON'T EVENT HINT installing multiple instances of MySQL servers, specially on Linux environment.

The performance optimisation & administrative details placed on this book are very little & yet they are very abstract.

i bought this book 2 save time, 4 administrative /configuration/performance optimisation purpose BUT I FOUND NOTHING USEFUL.

You don't find any reference 2 the use of the Password() function & password comparision.

Also the significant part of this book is, it doesn't have anything useful 4 a administrator, who wants 2 optimise & hack the power of MySql.

we're paying 4 a techie book like this, not 2 see the Mysql manual duplicated, but 2 see more value added features which comes with the experience of the auther+++++ which this book has compromised & beatifully lets down those who seek more depths in mysql.

MySql official manual is still the best , save your $$$$ don't buy this book get the MySql manual at
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/index.html

Tyronne Bershath Wickramarathne

Unlike most computer-related books, this one actually makes sense. The author has a no-nonsense approach 2 getting points across that most computer "authors" lack. It's very well organized & it's oriented 2 the beginner/intermediate audience. As a computer scientist myself, I found this book 2 quite welcoming & easy 2 find specific subjects in it. I was up & running in about three days. I created my first MySQL database & had it well-tuned in about a week or so, which is remarkable because I hadn't had any MySQL experience up 2 that point. Very solid, helpful book. Highly recommend.

Get comprehensive coverage of all the powerful new features of MySQL, one of the fastest--and free--relational databases in use today. Written in conjunction with the MySQL development team, this expert resource covers transactional integrity, disaster recovery, scalability, support 4 mobile users, Web-based & client/server programming, & much more.