am Posted December 31, 2003 Share Posted December 31, 2003 Well I have PHP 4.3.4.4 installed and MySQL (I got the version 4.1.1-alpha), SQLyog 3.64, MySQL Control Center 0.9.4-beta, MyODBC 3.51.06 and PHPed 3.2.1.3239 ... First of all, do I really need all this? I\'ve been reading and reading and reading and still just as stuck now as I was a couple days ago. The main thing is all the tuts refer to MySQL and I\'ve got it configured with my IIS 5.0 and I can bring up the \"test pages\" I\'ve made, but since I have IIS and PHPed and can write and bring the pages up, what do I need MySQL for? Everything I\'ve read so far just talks about what it\'s for, like creating databases ... but what would I need it for? I don\'t have anything to put in a database ... I mean if I\'m just learning PHP, I can\'t figure out what I need it for ... Long question summed up in one sentence :roll: : All I wanted to do was learn PHP and use PHP ... what do I need MySQL for? *sigh* I need some aspirin now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biffta Posted December 31, 2003 Share Posted December 31, 2003 Thing is you dont Need Mysql to use PHP. BUT...you keep asking what do I need MySQL for. I ask you what do you need PHP for? Thing is if your answer to that question is anything concerning an interactive style of web site, then chancces are you will need a database to keep track of everything on your site. You can do all kinds of things with PHP without a database but it really comes into its own when you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
am Posted January 2, 2004 Author Share Posted January 2, 2004 Thing is you dont Need Mysql to use PHP. You can do all kinds of things with PHP without a database but it really comes into its own when you do. I believe you just answered my question. I just started learning PHP, but everything I\'ve read keeps telling me I need to install MySQL and talks more about MySQL than anything else. But until I learn more about PHP I couldn\'t understand what I really need it for. I installed it, but the thing is now I\'m back and forth between learning PHP and MySQL and it\'s confusing me. So I wondered what I really needed it for. But I guess what I really wanted to know, was if it would be possible for me to get by without it until I learn enough about PHP first .... then start to learn about the MySQL. That\'s why I never learned anything but HTML, because most programming languages I\'ve tried to learn, jump from one thing to another before you can get a good grasp on it. If you understand what I\'m talking about. But thank you for the reply. It really helped a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gizmola Posted January 2, 2004 Share Posted January 2, 2004 You definately do not need mysql. If you\'re content to use flat files for any storage you can learn quite a bit of php without touching any of the database api\'s. PHP supports all sorts of databases, and the main reason that it is synonymous with PHP is that compared to most relational databases, mysql is very easy to install and get running (and of course it\'s open source and free) You\'re absolutely right.. that learning these seperate disciplines can be extremely confusing. When the time is right, leann about SQL, relational database design and use, and mysql, then come back to PHP and the mysql functions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llama Posted January 2, 2004 Share Posted January 2, 2004 I found the most useful method when learning php was to try everything as far as possible using flatfiles for counters/news etc. You will find you get to a stage where you think \"There HAS to be an easier way to keep all this organised and add more so\". This is where mysql comes in and it. Talking from experience now I could never go back to flatfiles but then again that\'s just my humble opinion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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