# Need recommendations for a book on MySQL

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-recommendations-for-a-book-on-mysql/431304>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [December 26, 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-recommendations-for-a-book-on-mysql/431304 "2007-12-26T18:32:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-recommendations-for-a-book-on-mysql/431304/1 "2007-12-26T18:32:21Z")

</div>

Looking for recommendations on a book that teaches MySQL (if PHP is part if it even better).

This is for a novice but would like for it to be comprehensive such that once I am no longer a novice with it I can still find the book useful (although if not possible I definitely would opt for novice training and get a separate book once I become competent with it).

I went to Amazon and looked at what was on offer and almost all the books there had good reviews. Figured I’d ask here and see if I can get more opinions.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-recommendations-for-a-book-on-mysql/431304/2 "2007-12-26T19:05:30Z")

</div>

Moving thread from IMHO to Cafe Society.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-recommendations-for-a-book-on-mysql/431304/3 "2007-12-27T18:17:57Z")

</div>

I asked this question a while ago and **Shagnasty** recommended _The Practical SQL Handbook_ by Bowman. ([Amazon Link](http://www.amazon.com/Practical-SQL-Handbook-Using-Variants/dp/0201703092/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198779337&sr=8-1).) It’s not specifically for MySQL but I used it with MySQL and it was fine. I don’t have experience with any other books but this one was excellent.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Engywook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bc8723/32.png) [@Engywook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engywook)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-recommendations-for-a-book-on-mysql/431304/4 "2007-12-27T21:53:31Z")

</div>

[This book](http://www.amazon.com/World-Second-Visual-QuickStart-Guide/dp/0321245652/ref=pd_bbs_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198791614&sr=8-8) is mostly a PHP book, but it does have a lengthy section on relational databases and MySQL. It’s a very robust introduction that would be accessible to just about anyone familiar with html (although knowing another scripting language like ActionScript or JavaScript is a plus).

While I’ve grown out of it somewhat, the Ullman book is usually adequate for most reference-type questions.

Before even buying a book, though - and if you haven’t already - do check out the superb documentation for both [MySQL](http://dev.mysql.com/doc/) and [PHP](http://www.php.net/docs.php). You should be able to learn a great deal without even setting foot in a Barnes and Noble… and it’ll give you a better sense of what might make a book right for you.

Also, [www.w3schools.com/](http://www.w3schools.com/) offers some pretty decent crash-course tutorials in a lot of subjects, including MySQL and PHP.