Using PHP MyAdmin

PHPMyAdmin is a useful tool in web creation, and is used to build and amend MySQL databases.

First, you will need to access your MySQL account. This is done using phpMyAdmin via a link that will have been given to you by your web manager.

It will read as a domain address, but with an addition:

http://www.my-website.com/phpmyadmin/

Using that link will bring up a box asking you to input your username and a password. Again, these will have been set up and forwarded to you.

A new screen should be presented to you, generally a ‘welcome’ screen, that lists the tasks that you are permitted to undertake. Let’s assume, for this exercise, that it is a database that you need to add to.

This database that you are responsible for will be displayed, with any others that may also be yours, in a list at the left hand side of the screen. Click on the database that you want to begin working with and a new box will be presented asking you for the name, and the number of ‘fields’ you require.

As this is a simple guide, let's say you want to create a database that lists people who work for XYZ Inc, including their Surname, First name, date of birth and phone number.

We will call the database ‘XYZ Employees’ and we need four fields.

Once you have entered these two instructions hit the button marked ‘go’ and the page will change again.

You will be presented with a table consisting of four lines and a variety of columns. The column on the left, 'Field’, is the one in which we define our fields. In this case Surname, First Name, DOB and phone number.

The second column,‘Type’, is where we tell the database how to interpret this data. As in all our cases the information is simply for reference and not calculation purposes so we enter the command ‘CHAR’ – for character – in the second column.

The third column, ‘length’, defines the number of characters that are permitted in that field.

Clicking ‘save’ at this point will give you a newly created database into which information can be added and stored using the ‘Inset’ tab shown on the database.

Ccreating a database is really the most basic of uses for phpMyAdmin but the above should give you a good idea of how well this open source tool has been developed, and how useful – and simple to use – it can be in maintaining websites.

1) Welcome Screen: http://www.graphicaddicts.net

2) Creating a database: http://kb.nitix.com