Another open source favorite, MySQL is the database construct that enables PHP and Apache to work
together to access and display data in a readable format to a browser. It is a Structured Query Language
server designed for heavy loads and processing of complex queries. As a relational database system,
MySQL allows many different tables to be joined together for maximum efficiency and speed.
This blog references version 4.0.15a, the most stable release of MySQL at the time of publication. While a
complete list of features can be found at the MySQL Web site (www.mysql.com), some of the more popular
features of this program are as follows:
❑ Multiple CPUs usable through kernel threads.
❑ Multi-platform operation.
❑ Numerous column types cover virtually every type of data.
❑ Group functions for mathematical calculations and sorting.
❑ Commands that allow information about the databases to be easily and succinctly shown to the
administrator.
❑ Function names that do not affect table or column names.
❑ A password and user verification system for added security.
❑ Up to 32 indexes per table permitted; this feature has been successfully implemented at levels of
60,000 tables and 5,000,000,000 rows.
❑ International error reporting usable in many different countries.
MySQL is the perfect choice for providing data via the Internet because of its ability to handle heavy
loads and its advanced security measures.
