• MySQL is an open-source relational database management system (RDBMS).
• Stores data in tables with rows and columns.
• Widely used for web applications like WordPress, Facebook, and Laravel apps.

Installing MySQL and PHP on Your System

Option 1: Using XAMPP (Recommended for Beginners)

XAMPP is an all-in-one package that includes:

• Apache (web server)
• MySQL / MariaDB (database server)
• PHP and phpMyAdmin (web-based database manager)

Steps:

1. Download XAMPP from https://www.apachefriends.org/download.html
2. Install it on your computer (Windows / Mac / Linux).
3. Launch the XAMPP Control Panel.
4. Start Apache and MySQL.
5. Open a browser and go to http://localhost/phpmyadmin

• This opens phpMyAdmin, the GUI to manage databases.

Option 2: Manual Installation

If you prefer installing separately:

For Windows:

1. Install PHP from https://windows.php.net/download
2. Install MySQL Community Server from https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql
3. Add PHP to your system PATH.
4. Start Apache or any web server like Nginx.

For Linux (Ubuntu/Debian):

sudo apt update
sudo apt install apache2
sudo apt install php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql
sudo apt install mysql-server
sudo mysql_secure_installation

• Check PHP: php -v
• Check MySQL: mysql --version

For Mac (Using MAMP or Homebrew):

brew install php
brew install mysql
brew services start mysql

Connecting PHP to MySQL

a) Using MySQLi (Procedural)

<?php
$servername = "localhost";
$username = "root";
$password = "";
$database = "test_db";

// Create connection
$conn = mysqli_connect($servername, $username, $password, $database);

// Check connection
if (!$conn) {
    die("Connection failed: " . mysqli_connect_error());
}
echo "Connected successfully";
?>

b) Using MySQLi (Object-Oriented)

<?php
$conn = new mysqli("localhost", "root", "", "test_db");

if ($conn->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $conn->connect_error);
}
echo "Connected successfully";
?>

c) Using PDO (Recommended for Modern PHP)

<?php
try {
    $conn = new PDO("mysql:host=localhost;dbname=test_db", "root", "");
    $conn->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);
    echo "Connected successfully using PDO";
} catch(PDOException $e) {
    echo "Connection failed: " . $e->getMessage();
}
?>

Testing PHP-MySQL Setup

1. Open phpMyAdmin at http://localhost/phpmyadmin
2. Create a database test_db
3. Create a table users:

CREATE TABLE users (
    id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    name VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
    email VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL
);

1. Create a PHP file test_connection.php using one of the connection examples above.
2. Open it in the browser (http://localhost/test_connection.php)
3. You should see “Connected successfully”

Best Practices After Installation

• Set a strong MySQL root password.
• Use PDO or MySQLi with prepared statements to prevent SQL injection.
• Always test your PHP-MySQL connection after installation.
• Use phpMyAdmin for quick database management.

Practice Example: Insert Data into MySQL Using PHP