Interacting with a MySQL Database Table in PHP

Now that you can create HTML forms and receive HTTP POST data and properly set up a table in a MySQL database, you are ready for the next step: interacting with this MySQL database through the use of an HTML form. All that's left for you to know and do is run MySQL queries from PHP code. Here's the script we're going to be looking at in this tutorial:

Setting up Tables in a MySQL Database

When you're about to include a MySQL database in a project you're working on, you're going to want to plan ahead and figure out what kind of layout this database should use. After all, you can't use a database without first creating it!

You could start by creating this database's structure using PHP code, but it would be incredibly hard to get everything right the first time! My recommendation is to do what I always do: start out by using Adminer or PHPMyAdmin to view the database and structure it manually. Adminer and PHPMyAdmin are two of the most common PHP scripts that you can use to access your database without needing to write code. One or both of them are usually included somewhere in your CPanel - if you're using a CMS like WordPress, you should be able to find a plugin for one of them or something.