After this introduction, it is straight into installation and configuration, and licencing issues. Assuming that there have been no problems in this area, we are then introduced to some basic commands to get your fingers dirty in MySQL. From chapter 26, it begins to get complicated but still approachable for the novice – it covers local and remote connection to your server, clients and utilities that provide interfaces for the execution of server administration tasks, various connection options available.

Chapter 27 discusses MySQL storage engines and datatypes – what ones exist and what relational database table (storage engine) one can use to store and organise information. It also highlights key tasks in database management and navigation.  What follows is security when accessing MySQL. In chapter 29 there is an excellent five-part checklist of essential tasks to be performed after installing and configuring MySQL. Provided you read through this section carefully, this should present no trouble.

Lastly, some useful things on PHP’s MySQL extension and suggestions on how to protect your information and connection. Most of this chapter is devoted to the various commands and processes one can choose to execute once a database is selected.

For a beginner like myself, chapters 24 to 29 are essential reading for MySQL basics. A brief glance through the remaining chapters (30 through 37) yields proof that there is further instruction on building upon these basics. It is highly recommended that those wanting to progress further first master the basics, or progress from chapter 30 onwards could get confusing.

From a non-technical point of view, I feel it necessary to mention a few things about the book generally. It is large, comprehensive, yet written in clear, concise English. It is well set out and there is an abundance of examples. When possible, the author always relates the technology discussed to its practical applications in the "real world" by giving examples of who uses what, and for what purpose. Undoubtedly the author is committed to ensuring that others benefit from his knowledge, without being patronising. To my mind, computer and technical manuals are notoriously dry but this one manages to avoid that.

Each chapter has an introduction, and ends with a summary to further reinforce what topics were discussed. This book is excellent for the beginner, though those with more experience may find it more useful as a reference tool. This is most evident when one considers just how much time is devoted to the PHP section which is arguably more thorough than the MySQL section.

The material isn’t always easy to grasp at first reading, but W. Jason Gilmore certainly does his best to make sure that understanding it will be possible for many of the concepts introduced. It remains up-to-date as the book is currently in its second edition printing, the author having written more material for this purpose. I have no qualms recommending it to those who may find themselves as technologically challenged as myself.