MySQL Databases
1. From the Control Panel, select the MySQL icon.
2. Select the Add button. A message appears indicating your database will be installed within approximately ten minutes.
Main MySQL Screen
After your MySQL database has been installed, accessing the MySQL icon on the Control Panel will open the database. Your initial view of the database will appear similar to the following:
The left frame displays the names of the databases available to you.
The right frame welcomes you to phpMyAdmin, which is the name of the administrative tool you are now using to manage your MySQL database.
The link Show MySQL runtime information displays the following table of statistics about your database.
The Log Out link logs you out of the MySQL option.
The phpMyAdmin-Homepage link opens the phpMyAdmin homepage, an excellent resource of information related to the use of phpMyAdmin application.
Setting Up MySQL Databases
When you initially install MySQL on your site, you essentially create a blank database. In order to work on your database, you must add tables to it.
How To Add Tables to Your Database:
- Single-click on the database name in the left frame of phpMyAdmin page.
- Create a new table by entering the table name in the Name field. Enter the number of data fields which will be in the table in the Fields field. Select the Go button. The Field setup page displays.
- Enter the appropriate information in the fields to describe the data fields you are creating. For help, check out the phpMyAdmin documentation.
- Once all the information has been added, select the Save button. The table page display, listing statistics about the table you just created and allowing a way of entering data into that table, or to change the table itself if needed.
- Click on the Home link in the left frame to return to the phpMyAdmin page or the yourdatabase name link to return to the main page to administer your database.
After you have added tables to your database, subtle differences to the main database page will appear on subsequent visits. More options will be available to you, all of them as a result of the fact that your database now has tables with which you can work.
For instance, if you single-click on the plus sign in the left frame beside your database name, a listing of all of the tables within your database appears.
Tables can be opened from this listing of tables. Single-click on the table name in the left frame to open the table in the right frame:
Notice that the fields and key of your table are listed along with various commands. These commands allow you to change or drop any field you choose and to perform other actions.
Run Query and Query by Example
From the main database page, you can run queries against your database. When you query a database, you specify the criteria or description of that query. Then you send that information to the database and the database returns results from its data that match the criteria you set. This query box should only be used if you know how to write queries manually.
The Query By Example Link allows you to create a request for information from your database using a form rather than typing the query from scratch.
| More MySQL Links: MySQL Part II - Using PHP and MySQL MySQL Part III - Backing Up Your Database |