Using MySQL as the backend

[Nyla K]

I'm not sure where to go to pose this question, but I hope that someone can
point me in the right direction. (I've e-mailed the support group at MySQL,
but I haven't received a response.)

I read that using MySQL as the backend will greatly improve the speed in a
WAN environment. I've downloaded the MySQL Server 4.1 and I can't seem to
install the server or maybe I have it installed but I just don't know how to
open the program. The only options I have after the download is MySQL
Command Line Client and MySQL Server Instance Configuration Wizard. What do
I do and where do I go from here? This is my first time using MySQL and I'm
completely confused.

ANY help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Nyla

 

[Gareth]

I'm not an expert (or anywhere close) but, from reading your post I get
the impression you're not familiar with the concept of a server DB. I
think some background might help you - forgive me if you already know
all this.

Access (and indeed its OpenOffice equivalent BASE) are filebased
databases (although BASE is capable of other things besides). The user
doesn't need to have Access installed to access the database, rather
they just need to have the MS Jet engine (which comes with MS Office
2000 and greater) installed.

It's this engine that does all the work. And because it's filebased -
rather than server based - all the work is done on the user's machine.
Therefore if you're connecting over a WAN to the DB file there's a fair
amount of traffic between the file and the user's machine while the Jet
engine runs the query.

A server based database on the other hand (e.g. mySQL, MS SQL Server,
Oracle) does all the work on the server. The user's machine will pass a
query to the server, which will do the grunt work locally and then pass
the query results back to the machine. There's far less traffic - just a
bit of authentication, handshaking, passing the query and getting the
recordset back. Hence, you're right, over a WAN this will be far, far
quicker than Access (or any filebased database).

But... this is a whole new world. You need to have a server. You need to
be able to back up your server -- it's no longer a simple file (or few
files). You need to know that your server is spec'd sufficiently to
handle the workload. You need to make sure your SQL is syntactically
correct for MySQL. Most of Access SQL will be but you will likely find
differences with JOINS, Dates or maybe concatenating strings - I haven't
used mySQL much.

The two files you have downloaded will help you set up a mySQL database
but it's nowhere near as simple as setting up an Access database. I
suggest you get your hands on a book or study an online tutorial (there
are plenty) in order to get to grips with it.

HTH,
Gareth

 

[Nyla K]

Thank you, Gareth. I knew that I was dealing with a whole new beast that I
am not familiar with at all. I've been given the task to learn MySQL and
have our existing databases converted to that format. I need to learn MySQL,
do the conversion, and have it tested by the end of this year. I bought a
book and it's like reading a foreign language! If you have a suggested site
that provides a tutorial on MySQL, I'd greatly appreciate knowing it.
Otherwise, I'll continue to do my research on tutorials and such.

Based on your explanation, it sounds like I need to install MySQL on a
server to make this work. Also, do you know if I have to work directly using
the command line or is there a GUI interface that I can use to simplify the
process of building a whole new backend database?

Thanks,
Nyla