Chapter 8. Designing Your Web Database

Now that you are familiar with the basics of PHP, you can begin looking at integrating a database into your scripts. As you might recall, Chapter 2, “Storing and Retrieving Data,” described the advantages of using a relational database instead of a flat file. They include

  • RDBMSs can provide faster access to data than flat files.

  • RDBMSs can be easily queried to extract sets of data that fit certain criteria.

  • RDBMSs have built-in mechanisms for dealing with concurrent access so that you, as a programmer, don't have to worry about it.

  • RDBMSs provide random access to your data.

  • RDBMSs have built-in privilege systems.

For some concrete examples, using a relational database allows you to quickly and easily answer ...

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