MySQL Cookbook

Platform Notes

Development of the code in this book took place under MySQL 3.23 and 4.0. Because new features are added to MySQL on a regular basis, some examples will not work under older versions. I’ve tried to point out version dependencies when introducing such features for the first time.

The MySQL language API modules that I used include DBI 1.20 and up, DBD::mysql 2.0901 and up, MySQLdb 0.9 and up, MM.MySQL 2.0.5 and up, and MySQL Connector/J 2.0.14. DBI requires Perl 5.004_05 or higher up through DBI 1.20, after which it requires Perl 5.005_03 or higher. MySQLdb requires Python 1.5.6 or higher. MM.MySQL and MySQL Connector/J require Java SDK 1.1 or higher.

Language processors include Perl 5.6 and 5.6.1; PHP 3 and 4; Python 1.5.6, 2.2; and 2.3, and Java SDK 1.3.1. Most PHP scripts shown here will run under either PHP 3 or PHP 4 (although I strongly recommend PHP 4 over PHP 3). Scripts that require PHP 4 are so noted.

I do not assume that you are using Unix, although that is my own preferred development platform. Most of the material here should be applicable both to Unix and Windows. The operating systems I used most for development of the recipes in this book were Mac OS X; RedHat Linux 6.2, 7.0, and 7.3; and various versions of Windows (Me, 98, NT, and 2000).

I do assume that MySQL is installed already and available for you to use. I also assume that if you plan to write your own MySQL-based programs, you’re reasonably familiar with the language you’ll use. If you need to install software, see Appendix A. If you require background material on the programming languages used here, see Appendix C.