If you re a programmer new to databases or just new to MySQL and its community-driven variant, MariaDB you ve found the perfect introduction. This hands-on guide provides an easy, step-by-step approach to installing, using, and maintaining these popular relational database engines. Author Russell Dyer, Curriculum Manager at MariaDB and former editor of the MySQL Knowledge Base, takes you through database design and the basics of data management and manipulation, using real-world examples and many practical tips. Exercises and review questions help you practice what you ve just learned.Create and alter MySQL tables and specify fields and columns within themLearn how to insert, select, update, delete, join, and subquery data, using practical examplesUse built-in string functions to find, extract, format, and convert text from columnsLearn functions for mathematical or statistical calculations, and for formatting date and time valuesPerform administrative duties such as managing user accounts, backing up databases, and importing large amounts of dataUse APIs to connect and query MySQL and MariaDB with PHP and other languages"