Chapter 10. Advanced SQL and MySQL

Chapter 5, "Basic SQL," and Chapter 6, "MySQL Functions," discuss the fundamentals of both technologies. In those chapters I focus on the commands and functions that will do the vast majority of database-querying tasks. In this chapter, I cover a hodgepodge of topics that aren't used as often but are real time-savers when needed.

Many of these features have been added to MySQL in versions 4.0 and 4.1, so do pay attention to what I say about version support as I discuss a concept. Because these topics are unrelated to each other, most of the demonstrations will be independent and may require the creation of new tables. Instructions will be provided as needed.