Beginning PHP 5 and MySQL: From Novice to Professional, offers a comprehensive introduction to two of the most popular web application building technologies on the planet: the scripting language PHP and the MySQL database server. Readers are not only exposed to the core aspects of both technologies, but also gain valuable insight into how they are used in unison to create dynamic data-driven web applications. It is the first book to delve into the features of the latest releases of the world's most popular open source web development technologies, the MySQL 4 database server and PHP 4 scripting language. Not only will readers profit from extensive introductions to the core features of each technology, but also from insight into the cutting-edge, sometimes undocumented features of the most recent versions.