While I was working about destinations, which is going to be necessary for my project, at the same time I started to gather information about PHP and MySQL. I looked at what are they used for and why are they required for my web site.
Database: A database is a type of file system that stores information. This is its most basic function. Instead of relying on traditional methods of storing information in physical file folders and cabinets, a database provides digital storage of information. To create a database in an organized way I should learn PHP and MySQL coding.
PHP & MySQL
PHP is short name what is officially called “PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor.” Basically PHP is a server side scripting language, using which you can build dynamic website’s, PHP can connect to various databases, perhaps the best part of PHP is that its open-source and it can be run on Unix, Linux, Windows what I mean to say it can be run virtually on all computing platforms so you can write PHP code on your home computer which has windows and then run the same code on a Unix/Linux Server.
So what can it do?
PHP is a complete programming language and you can do almost anything with it, but mostly PHP is used with web-based programming and one of its most powerful feature is database access. PHP can also communicate with other server-side languages such as Java and use COM interfaces. PHP supports many databases (MySQL, Informix, Oracle, Sybase, Solid, PostgreSQL, Generic ODBC, etc.)
Before working with PHP I need to install PHP on my computer (www.php.net), which is free to download to use and I should have a basic understanding of Html.
MySQL: is currently the world’s most popular and widely used open source database technology and data storage system. MySQL offers great reliability and ease of use. You can think of a MySQL database as a container that holds text based data. Images, media files, audio files, and things of that nature really should not be stored in a database. The trick is to put those files on the server in folders and just reference their name and path in the database. The data in MySQL is stored in database objects called tables. A table is a collection of related data entries and it consists of columns and rows.
Here you can see some types of applications which you can create by using PHP and MySQL:
1. Website Blogs
2. Custom Dynamic Database Driven Websites
3. Ecommerce and Custom Online Store Programming
4. Social Networks and Communities
5. Guestbooks
6. Entire Dynamic Websites
7. Client and Customer Information
Any application that requires deep data storage and easy access to that data. This list would be very long.