MySQL Reference Manual : Documentation from the Source

This comprehensive reference manual covers issues at all stages in MySQL use, from installation problems through performance tuning. Included are suggested uses of privileges to enhance security, many performance tips, and a sophisticated guide to error recovery. It also offers a thorough comparison of MySQL with SQL standards and other databases. This version covers MySQL 4.0. Topics covered in this manual range from the hitches you may run in to when first installing MySQL to internals that should help you tune your queries. The manual contains comprehensive reference material for building the product, running administrative utilities, and using various API as well as MySQL's version of SQL. Also included in the book are: a comparison of MySQL with SQL standards and other databases; a discussion of privileges and suggested uses of privileges to enhance security; directions for replicating a database and for running several MySQL servers on a single system; directions for initializing a database from a flat file; guidelines for estimating the performance of different queries; a discussion of optimization, with reference to the implementation of MySQL; investigations of the differences between data types and the pros and cons of each type of number, string, or timest amp; an extended inquiry into the effects of using delayed inserts; a candid explanation of why various errors occur and how to recover from them; tips for weighted, full-text searches; detailed descriptions of the features, strengths, and weaknesses of available table formats; and a guide to adding new functions to MySQL.