PHP to MySQL beginner question: - php

Question

Just to get started, and thinking I needed a "database," I did this:
$db = new PDO("java:comp/env/jdbc/mysql");
$stmt = $db->query("CREATE DATABASE kitty_db");
To see if it worked I commented out the above and then wrote:
$link = mysql_connect('localhost:3306', 'me', 'blah');
$db_list = mysql_list_dbs($link);
while($row = mysql_fetch_object($db_list)) {
echo $row->Database ."<BR>";
And I saw that my new database was there:
information_schema
mysql
kitty_db
performance_schema
test
And so my first question is, did I even need to make a new database next to mysql just to get started on something? I don't recall ever having to do that a couple of years ago (7 actually) when I was setting up MySQL before (sans via PHP).
Anyway, I'm wondering why I can't create a table now. If kitty_db isn't a good idea, let's take it out. But I may be having trouble putting a TABLE 'milk_bowl' (with an index or key or whatever 'bowl_name' field).
Thanks for any help. Things have gotten more complex since I just opened up a command line in MySQL almost a decade ago and just issued simplistic queries.

Answer 1

And so my first question is, did I
even need to make a new database next
to mysql just to get started on
something? I don't recall ever having
to do that a couple of years ago (7
actually) when I was setting up MySQL
before (sans via PHP).
This question is kind of vague. You are asking about needing to make a database to start on something? Without know more about your something, I don't really think that question is answerable. Creating the database is usually the first step when setting up a database. You might find this helpful when getting started.
Anyway, I'm wondering why I can't
create a table now. If kitty_db isn't
a good idea, let's take it out. But I
may be having trouble putting a TABLE
'milk_bowl' (with an index or key or
whatever 'bowl_name' field).
From the above link (adapted to your example):
<?php
$con = mysql_connect("localhost:3306","me","blah");
if (!$con)
{
die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
}
// Create database
if (mysql_query("CREATE DATABASE kitty_db",$con))
{
echo "Database created";
}
else
{
echo "Error creating database: " . mysql_error();
}
// Create table
mysql_select_db("kitty_db", $con);
$sql = "CREATE TABLE milk_bowl
(
bowl_name varchar(15),
)";
// Execute query
mysql_query($sql,$con);
mysql_close($con);
?>
Thanks for any help. Things have
gotten more complex since I just
opened up a command line in MySQL
almost a decade ago and just issued
simplistic queries.
I don't think that's changed all that much. You can still use the command line to connect to your mysql db and issue queries directly. PHP just lets you do it through a browser/scripts.

Answer 2

This is not a direct answer to your question, but it might solve your problem... have you tried using an application such as MySQL Administrator or MySQL Query Browser? I came back to MySQL recently after a very long hiatus as well and found them both very helpful.