MySQL
Database
The MySQL option in the Control Panel allows
the setup of a MySQL database on your site. MySQL is the world's
most popular Open Source database because of it's speed and power.
Documentation
on programming in MySQL is widely available in book
stores as well as on line.
The purpose of the tools provided in the Control Panel are to install MySQL and provides a basic overview of the
screens you can expect to see within this option.
How To Install MySQL on Your Site
From the Control Panel, select the MySQL icon.
The following instructions display. Select the Add button. A message
appears indicating your database will be installed within approximately
ten minutes.
Once installed you can control the database in
one of several ways. The most common is simply to let the program
you're installing that requires a database manage the database.
The other method is to use PHPMyAdmin which is installed along with
your database under the MySQL icon in the Control Panel.
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. We can install more than one database onto account.
To buy additional databases, please contact support.
The right frame welcomes you to phpMyAdmin, which
is the name of the administrative tool you are now using to manage
your MySQL database.
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 ofphpMyAdmin
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, select the
Documentation link.
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.
Working with existing tables
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 (as illustrated in the image above),
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 (appearing as blue text in the
image above). These commands allow you to change or drop any field
you choose and to perform other actions.
Underneath the Documentation link are tools for
working with the fields including Inserting data into the fields.
Other tools used for working with your database
are available from this page. (Note: not all appear in the image
above.) Be sure to scroll down to see all possible options. Use
the Documentation links for more information.
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.
The query tool allows for complex queries against your database.
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