This book has been invaluable to me, and although I have my gripes against the tedium of some of this book, overall it's become a permanent member of my web design shelf. Having this book on hand has allowed me to dive into the dark realms of PHP message boards and wikis and come out with my own server-based applications.

I have purchased each version of this book and this is by far the best version yet. It was totally reorganized from the previous versions, and adds a great deal of new content covering the new features triggers, stored procedures etc. if you only buy one book on MySQL this is it.

DuBois book is quite a well written book for Mysql beginners. Highly recommended!!

This book will not teach you how to work with MySQL. It is, however, a terrific reference manual on the ins and outs of just about every feature (Although I wish coverage of stored procedures and triggers had been more complete). I've worn one out entirely and had to buy a second.

As a guide to MySQL it seems to be fairly complete, although the index is not very good or helpful. Basically you have to begin from the beginning of the book and read it to the end to make sense out of it - it isn't much of a reference work because it is very difficult to navigate, and difficult to find things in the midst of Paul DuBois's endless waffle.

The worst thing about this book, though, is that not only is it very thick and heavy, but it is also exceptionally verbose and contains very much pointless waffling. The book's length could have been reduced by about two hundred pages if Paul DuBois had employed a competent editor to remove the fluff.

Because of the grind involved in tackling Paul DuBois's verbose, tedious and distracting writing style, I give this book three stars.

It's a good book, but despite the hype it really doesn't go into a lot of detail.

BUT I have some problems with the book.

First, it is very heavy.

Second, the author RABBITS on and on and on. The book is full of these bizarre verbose statements of the obvious which drive me nuts. For example he says things like "I like doing it this way. Your preference may of course be different." What is the point of saying something so obvious? The book could have been cut down to 800 pages just by removing the verbose statements. This book badly needs an editor.

Third, the index is totally inadequate. I hardly ever find what I'm looking for. For example to find out how to sort things, if you look under "sort" in the index you won't find it. In fact the command is "order by", not "sort", but wouldn't it make sense to index from the word "sort", the usual computer term for this operation, to the entry for "order by"?

In general the book is useful but there are some areas where not enough thought went into it.

Paul DuBois is an excellent author. I bought his book, MySQL, about 4 years ago and used it until it was out of date. This new edition proves once again that he is one of the best authors and authorities in this field.
The book is complete and is a great reference for anyone wanting to dive headlong into MySQL. It goes from the very simple to the extremely complex issues facing DBAs (Database Administrators).
The only reason why I don't give his book all 5 stars is that the format of the book can be a bit unwieldy and I know this isn't totally his fault but it makes using the book a bit more difficult for me. I had a hard time finding some things but a little effort in searching paid off every time. Overall, if you are looking to MySQL for solving your database problems, you should definitely buy this one.

Paul DuBois is an excellent author. I bought his book, MySQL, about 4 years ago and used it until it was out of date. This new edition proves once again that he is one of the best authors and authorities in this field.
The book is complete and is a great reference for anyone wanting to dive headlong into MySQL. It goes from the very simple to the extremely complex issues facing DBAs (Database Administrators).
The only reason why I don't give his book all 5 stars is that the format of the book can be a bit unwieldy and I know this isn't totally his fault but it makes using the book a bit more difficult for me. I had a hard time finding some things but a little effort in searching paid off every time. Overall, if you are looking to MySQL for solving your database problems, you should definitely buy this one.

This book is used at least once a day. Illustrations are clear, and examples concise. Covers all aspects of MySQL.

Only nag is that version 5.0 was obviously still evolving when this was written, so some of the new features such as triggers and views are not fleshed out well. But the author deals with that early on, and does give them some page time.

As with most open source programs, check the website -- there are some really nifty tools now available for MySQL that weren't available even a few months ago.

Worth the price -- don't wait for the fourth edition. If you do, you'll be missing out on what you can do with this amazing product.

This book is full of interesting data - and is even probably complete. However when it comes to searching the information you need, this is a different story.

The biggest problem is the index. You need a refresh about the syntax of the command to dump/recover the database... don't look for "dump" or "recover" it's not in.
Even the simplest operations like "How do I extend the fields of my table?", there is neither "add" or "field" in the index (besides the FIELD() function).

Finally the information is hard to find within the chapters also. There are 13 head of chapters with non intuitive titles. The author had seemingly a hard time to manage all that information, and distributing it logically among chapters. Repetitions, omissions,... the book is not pleasant to search/follow/read.

I agree one must be glad to have a book about Mysql, this is why I gave 3 stars, but the book could be largely improved.

If someone approached me and asked `Mike, I want to learn MySQL ad I can only afford one book, which one would you recommend?', I would have to answer MySQL by Paul DuBois.

I actually owe my involvement with MySQL and my current employment to this book. When I was taking an Oracle course in University I found a copy of the first edition of this book in a bookstore at a discount and picked it up in the hopes that since it referred to SQL on the cover it might help me with my studies. While the book did teach me a good deal about SQL, it also taught me about MySQL, an RDBMS I would use exclusively as soon as the Oracle course was over with.

At more than 1200 pages, this is certainly the most comprehensive book on MySQL available to date. This book covers everything from installing MySQL to query optimization to PHP programming, along with everything in between. The book also provides enough reference information that it serves as a nice substitute for the MySQL documentation when you do not have internet access.

Part one of this book deals with the basics. MySQL is described, and a basic SQL tutorial is provided. Later chapters describe choosing data types and performing the various tasks that are involved in using MySQL. By the time you complete part one, you should be able to access data, create tables, join tables, and optimize your queries. For a typical user these first 300 pages should be all you need to become an advanced user (not an administrator mind you).

Part two occupies the next 250 pages and is a nice introducion to programming and instructs you in the use of the C, Perl,
and PHP APIs. While not as extensive a programming introduction as you will find in a dedicated PHP, Perl, or C book, the subject of database programming with these languages is well covered, and you should be able to write a basic database application after reading part two.

In part three, Paul DuBois descibes the administration of a MySQL database. Of particular interest should be the chapters on
administration and security. Additional subjects include file maintenance, server configuration, and replication. As with part one, part three is comprehensive and should provide solutions for anything you may encounter when administering a MySQL database.

The reference information in the appendices is quite extensive, and covers everything from installation to function and syntax references. The information should be current to MySQL 5, and is an excellent resource when you do not have access to the online reference manual
with its current information.

This is without a doubt one of the finest resources available on MySQL. This was my first MySQL book and my old first edition is well worn and has served me very well. If you need a good MySQL book that can take you from being an absolute beginner to a seasoned DBA, this is the book for you.

The book works around a sample database which supposedly could be downloaded from a link in the book.

The link proved to be outdated and no sample database could be found.

This is a serious flaw, as the beginner has no visual reference point.

When I reviewed this book, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the author, Dubois, explained things very clearly so I could understand the concepts and how to apply them. Dubois is a master of MySQL For a book of it's size, it maintains continuity of concepts throughout. The breadth and depth of knowledge that it covers is terrific. If you only choose one MySQL book choose this one.

I was beginning to research MySQL for myself if hopes of using this technology in future web design / development projects. I knew that I wanted an instructional book, as well as, a strong reference book. MySQL does both. In his book, Paul Dubois really provides a comprehensive guide into the world of My SQL. Through using this book, the reader is exposed to everything from the basics, to using MySQL to generate dynamic Web pages, to administering MySQL servers.

The first part of the book started out for beginners like me, then, later the book progressed to more advanced topics. Current programmers who work with PHP and MySQL will get a lot of use out of the middle section.

At the end of the book, there are many appendices (10) that include information about other languages and interfaces like Perl, C, PHP and others. The appendices included a complete MySQL data type reference and information on built-in functionality. The very detailed index (50 pages!) at the end of the book makes finding exactly what you need quick and painless.

When working with my own server, the information Dubois provides on installation, configuration, administration, security, and troubleshooting was invaluable. I was able to get my server online quickly and began writing code in no time, with no former installation experience with MySQL. The tutorial was a great help and the step-by-step examples worked straight out of the book. You did not have to modify or edit them at all to get them to work.

This is the 3rd edition of this book. The author made this book available to the MySQL community for their feedback; that's just what he got. What's very refreshing is that the author took the feedback to heart and added it to this new edition, making it a strong and field-tested survival guide when it comes to MySQL.

Loren Elks
Group Manager, D-MAG.org

Now in an expanded and updated third edition, the popular MySQL by computer software expert Paul DuBois provides a comprehensive and superbly organized guide to using MySQL, effectively, productively, and immediately. This massive, 1320 page manual describes everything from the basics, to using MySQL to generate dynamic Web pages, to administering MySQL servers. This newly revised third edition covers the new features and improvements of MySQL 5 in detail, and incorporates feedback from readers and top MySQL developers to make this the most comprehensive and thorough edition to date.

When I first got this book I was put off by its size. I mean what developers have time to read books over 400 pages long? And this one is over twice that size. But I started reading it and I found that it is clear and explains things very well. I also found out that I don't need to read the whole book, because it is broken up into different subjects -- really like several books in one book. I am a single independent developer that is working on building a huge PHP, MySQL Web site and I need to know how to use MySQL very effectively and how to optimize what MySQL has to offer. Since I'm outsourcing all my hosting, at this time I don't need to know about MySQL administration, and since I'm only using PHP, I don't need to know about the other APIs, and I can use the appendixes as a reference for functions and such. So I only have to read about 350 pages instead of 1150. And if I find I need to know about MySQL admin or about another API, it's right there. So, I'm happy, and the book is great. I've read 100 pages so far.

I was already developing mysql & php sites and apps when i purchased this book, so it was a good buy as a reference text, but if you intent to learn Mysql, there are better books than this one.

It is deep, slow to read, with rather small text size. For the beginner, i think it's not a good starter. But on the other hand it has almost everything you would want to know about Mysql, with lots of examples and quite well explained.

I learned Mysql and PHP from Sam's "Php and Mysql web development", and i couldn't recommend that one enough. It's a GREAT text for the beginner. I found myself writing Php/Mysql web sites in less than 3 months, starting from nothing.

I give it 4 stars due to lack of info on the Java APIs. This is the best mySql book on out there!! I have a couple of others and sometimes they conflict. The other books don't tell the whole story like how different table types impact certain features - this book does and it always seems to be right. Buy this one and leave the others behind.

This book provides excellent broad coverage of all aspects of MySQL and very detailed in-depth coverage as well. I found the chapters on MySQL administration, backup and recovery, and security particularly helpful. The writing is very clear and provides lots of good examples and step-by-step instructions.

If you want to become a MySQL expert, read this book!

This book is not for beginners, or at least not for those coming from the GUI world without command line experience. Paul makes heavy use of the command line for his examples, and the book in fact contains a large amount of reference content on the command line tools you can use.

That said, the majority of the book is written in a well explained fashion, even the reference part at the end has lengthy explanations, so you will always find what you need. The reference section would be the ideal place to look at for type info, function parameters, etc. if the book would not be that heavy, but the precise explanations would not be possible otherwise.

This book tries to be everything for everybody, which is hard to accomplish. The first section provides an introduction to SQL, but there is also significant info for system administrators and a huge amount of pages on programming with C, Perl and PHP in connection with MySQL. If you are a beginner, and you are not interested in having your own server, or writing C programs, then this book might not be the best choice. However, if you would like to have a broad overview with details wherever you need, this book is advisable.

When I got this book, I already had a pretty good knowledge of SQL and databases in general, so I cannot comment on whether or not it is appropriate for complete novices. However, this mammoth improved my knowledge of SQL and MySQL by several orders of magnitude. And to top it off, it is a treat to read. Clear and consice, it's only time consuming because it has over 1200 pages.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking to learn more about MySQL. It is however, lacking a few very minor areas - the section on SET column types, for example, could contain a note that spaces are not allowed between its values (though they are used regularly throughout the book) as well as an example SELECT statement showing options for finding rows whose SET columns contain (but aren't equal to) a specific value (hint: use FIND_IN_SET() or LIKE '%....%'). The index could be slightly more filled out, and the function/operator reference entries could be enhanced by a single usage/syntax example (though clearly, this is not always necessary.) But overall, these are only very small blemishes on a gargantuan masterpiece.

WITHOUT A DOUBT, THIS MAN KNOWS HIS ONIONS AND HOW TO CONVEY HIS KNOWLEDGE TO OTHERS. I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT THE BOOK EXCEPT; IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MYSQL, BUY THE BOOK!!!!!!!.