MySQL or MySQLi

[duncan2010]

Just starting to learn php and have come to the stage of introducing databases and a bit stuck with whether to learn mysql or mysqli - as far as I can gather a lot of people still use the procedural mysql. I now that mysqli can also be procedural, so I welcome any advice on what choices people make and why. Also, if anyone knows what will be the most often encountered in the professional market, so that I don't spend time learning something to learn that it's no longer in use.

 

Thanks for any advice.

[AngelG107]

MySQLI Overview : http://www.php.net/manual/en/mysqli.overview.php

 

MySQLi was developed to take advantage of new features found in MySQL systems.

It provides the same functions and above.

 

If i were you, i would learn both. I can bet it's gonna be used soon.

Not to mention, Oracle and PostgreSQL are important too.

 

At least at my country, the most used database system are Oracle and PostgresSQL.

[abazoskib]

i feel like mysqli was made to satisfy someone who wanted his/her programs to look like they are completely OOP

[duncan2010]

It's interesting that you say that, because it's sort of what I was thinking. I like the idea of having OO php code, as that's the way I learnt to code, but the way the databases are accessed from within the php I think it looks easier to just make the traditional procedural type calls. It also seems to me as though mysql is still more widely used by php programmers, although I cannot verify that. Mysqli also has the procedural versions too, so it feels a little bit like it's neither one thing or another. Hmmm!

[jtm62]

For me, it depends on what I am trying to do with my statements.  I found mysql and mysqli to be very easy to pick up on.  I solely use mysql when I am doing things that are purely read or one write only, because it is a hell of a lot easier to program in mysql than mysqli.  However, if I am doing anything that requires multiple writes or write/read then I use mysqli because it supports the commit/rollback functionality.  Remember to use InnoDB if you want to play with commit/rollback though.