| Speaking Different Tongues |

If you've been working with PHP for a while, you're probably already aware of its support for a wide variety of database systems. MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, dBase - these are just some of the databases that PHP supports, and it's precisely this extensive support that makes PHP so popular as a tool for building data-driven Web applications.

There's only one fly in the ointment. PHP provides a different set of functions to "talk" to each database, rather than a single, unified API. This means that if you ever switch from one database back-end to another, you'll usually have to rewrite all your PHP code to use new functions...a task that's guaranteed to take the sunlight out of your day.

Fortunately, PEAR has a solution to this problem. The PEAR DB class provides a database abstraction layer for RDBMS interaction, making it possible to switch from one database to another without having to re-code your application. Keep reading, and let me show you how it works.

How to do Everything with PHP & MySQL How to do Everything with PHP & MySQL, the best-selling book by Melonfire, explains how to take full advantage of PHP's built-in support for MySQL and link the results of database queries to Web pages. You'll get full details on PHP programming and MySQL database development, and then you'll learn to use these two cutting-edge technologies together. Easy-to-follow sample applications include a PHP online shopping cart, a MySQL order tracking system, and a PHP/MySQL news publishing system.. Read more, or grab your copy now!

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