To avoid getting bogged down detailing differences between database implementations, we’re going to state up front that we use MySQL 3.23 as the reference platform for this story.

In practical terms, this means that code written for one RDBMS often won’t run unaltered on another. RDBMSes also vary in the data types they provide, their support for capabilities such as transactions, triggers, and relational integrity, and so on. Unfortunately, although the American National Standards Institute has ratified three formal SQL standards, there’s considerable variation in the SQL dialects implemented by various products. SQL, of course, is the de facto standard language for manipulating relational databases. This approach can even suffice for moderate-sized Web or intranet sites. Though these products are client-server applications, for many purposes you don’t need any dedicated database server hardware–you can simply run the client and server on a single machine. In order to run the sample code in this story and to experiment on your own, you’ll obviously need to have access to, or install your own copy of, a relational DBMS. We’ll review basic database concepts, demonstrate the use of SQL (Structured Query Language) to manipulate and query data, and ultimately illustrate how you can harness the power of relational databases using some of your favorite programming languages and Web development tools.Ī Note on Database Choices and Compatibility In this three-part series we’ll show you how to get started with free relational database management software.

Easy free relational database