mySQL

MySQL is the world's most popular open source database software, with over 100 million copies of its software downloaded or distributed throughout it's history. With its superior speed, reliability, and ease of use, MySQL has become the preferred choice for Web, Web 2.0, SaaS, ISV, Telecom companies and forward-thinking corporate IT Managers because it eliminates the major problems associated with downtime, maintenance and administration for modern, online applications.

Many of the world's largest and fastest-growing organizations use MySQL to save time and money powering their high-volume Web sites, critical business systems, and packaged software — including industry leaders such as Yahoo!, Alcatel-Lucent, Google, Nokia, YouTube, Wikipedia, and Booking.com.

The flagship MySQL offering is MySQL Enterprise, a comprehensive set of production-tested software, proactive monitoring tools, and premium support services available in an affordable annual subscription.

MySQL is a key part of LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP / Perl / Python), the fast-growing open source enterprise software stack. More and more companies are using LAMP as an alternative to expensive proprietary software stacks because of its lower cost and freedom from platform lock-in.

MySQL was originally founded and developed in Sweden by two Swedes and a Finn: David Axmark, Allan Larsson and Michael "Monty" Widenius, who had worked together since the 1980's.

Functions in MySQL

Many developers are completely unaware that MySQL actually has a huge number of functions built in, to do everything from regular expression-based string comparisons to complicated mathematical calculations. The outsides of the cheat sheet list MySQL functions (note: a few of the more unusual and least used functions have not been included due to constraints of space).

MySQL Data Types

MySQL allows for many data types for columns, and it is very easy to forget what constraints there are on these data types. This is especially important when it comes to validation - many developers do not check the length of data before inserting it into a table. This section lists the data types available and their constraints.

MySQL Functions in PHP

PHP has a MySQL module and this is used by most PHP developers to connect to, and query, a MySQL database. This section lists the functions available in PHP for connecting to and managing a MySQL database.

Sample Queries

Finally, the cheat sheet includes a short list of sample queries and a brief explanation of each.