PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Web Sites: Visual QuickPro Guide, Fourth Edition

6. Database Design

In This Chapter

Normalization 166

Creating Indexes 179

Using Different Table Types 182

Languages and MySQL 184

Time Zones and MySQL 189

Foreign Key Constraints 195

Review and Pursue 202

Now that you have a basic understanding of databases, SQL, and MySQL, this chapter begins the process of taking that knowledge deeper. The focus on this chapter, as the title states, is real-world database design. Like the work done in Chapter 4, “Introduction to MySQL,” much of the effort herein requires paper and pen, and serious thinking about what your applications will need to do.

The chapter begins with thorough coverage of database normalization: a vital approach to the design process. After that, the chapter turns to design-related concepts ...