Web Coding & Development All-in-One For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Chapter 3

Using PHP to Access MySQL Data

IN THIS CHAPTER

Understanding web development’s most enduring marriage

Connecting to a MySQL database with PHP

Using PHP to access MySQL data with a SELECT query

Processing the SELECT query results

Rendering server data to the browser

Using PHP to run INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE queries

PHP and MySQL work together to provide powerful, flexible components that can keep up with the expanding database driven development needs of virtually any organization, large or small.

— ISAAC DUNLAP

Run a Google search on the text PHP MySQL "Match made in heaven" and you'll get more than a few results. I'm not surprised one bit because it seems as though these two technologies were meant to be together; a case of love at first byte, as it were.

What’s the secret of their success as a couple? First, it helps that they’re both free (not the usual prerequisite ...