One of the first questions that comes up when someone starts using PHP and the very powerful MySQL database is: How do I page through the results of a query like I see with search results on many web sites? This is pretty easy to accomplish if you know how to use the MySQL LIMIT clause.
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We have been using PHP and MySQL for web development almost exclusively for several years. During this time, our team has come up with a list of simple, yet powerful one line SQL statements that make MySQL easier to use. We thought we might share them with you. (more…)

It is common to add a drop-down select box that is populated with USA states or Canadian provinces to PHP applications. There are basically three ways to do this. You can hard-code all of the Select box selections into your application, you can add the states to a MySQL database manually, or you can use the handy code on this page to create a States table in MySQL in just a few seconds. (more…)

A full-text search allows a search of multiple text columns. If you are setting up a search of a series of articles or a site with lots of product-related content, a MySQL FULLTEXT search can make it very easy to find articles or products related to the keywords used by a searcher. This search method does exactly what its name implies–it allows a full search of large text fields. A FULLTEXT search is easy to set up if you just follow these simple instructions. (more…)

Learning how to use the MySQL database properly can take quite a bit of time. It is not uncommon to select a less than optimal data type when setting up a new table. Multiple data types are available for each value that you wish to store. This MySQL data type tutorial is intended to help take some of the mystery out of the proper type selections for database columns. (more…)

This MySQL cheatsheet is the first of a series of cheatsheets. I’ve always set up cheatsheets for my own use as long as I’ve been writing programs, which goes back a long time. What sets this cheatsheet apart from others is that it focuses on commonly used MySQL examples and not just code. It’s a free download. I hope that you find it to be useful. (more…)

Most new web developers have heard of SQL injection attacks, but not very many know that it is fairly easy to prevent an attacker from gaining access to your data by filtering out the vulnerabilities using MySQL extensions found in PHP. (more…)