PHP Connect to MySQL: A Beginner’s Guide

PHP is one of the most popular scripting languages for web development, and MySQL is a widely used open-source relational database management system. Combining PHP and MySQL allows developers to create dynamic and interactive web applications. In this article, we will explore how to connect PHP to MySQL, a fundamental step in building database-driven web applications.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following components installed on your system:

1. PHP: You can download PHP from the official website or use a package manager for your operating system.
2. MySQL: Install MySQL from the official MySQL website or use a package manager.
3. A Web Server: You need a web server to run PHP scripts. Popular choices include Apache, Nginx, or XAMPP, which includes both Apache and PHP in one package.

Connecting PHP to MySQL

Step 1: Create a MySQL Database

Before you can connect PHP to MySQL, you must have a MySQL database set up. You can use MySQL’s command-line tools or a graphical interface like phpMyAdmin to create a database. For this example, let’s assume you’ve created a database called “mydb.”

Step 2: Install the PHP MySQL Extension

Ensure that the MySQL extension for PHP is installed and enabled. You can check if the extension is enabled by creating a simple PHP file with the following code and accessing it through your web server:

<?php
phpinfo();
?>

Look for the “mysql” section in the PHP info page to verify that the MySQL extension is enabled.

Step 3: Connect to the Database

Now, let’s write PHP code to establish a connection to the MySQL database.

<?php
$servername = "localhost"; // Change to your MySQL server hostname or IP address.
$username = "yourusername"; // Your MySQL username.
$password = "yourpassword"; // Your MySQL password.
$database = "mydb"; // The name of the database you created.

// Create a connection
$conn = new mysqli($servername, $username, $password, $database);

// Check the connection
if ($conn->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $conn->connect_error);
}

echo "Connected successfully to MySQL!";
?>

Replace the placeholders (yourusername and yourpassword) with your MySQL username and password. Modify the $servername variable if your MySQL server is hosted on a different machine.

Step 4: Execute SQL Queries

With a successful connection, you can now execute SQL queries on your MySQL database using PHP. Here’s an example of a simple query to retrieve data from a table and display it:

$sql = "SELECT * FROM mytable"; // Replace 'mytable' with your table name.
$result = $conn->query($sql);

if ($result->num_rows > 0) {
    while ($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) {
        echo "ID: " . $row["id"]. " - Name: " . $row["name"]. "<br>";
    }
} else {
    echo "No records found.";
}

// Close the connection
$conn->close();

Replace 'mytable' with the name of the table you want to query.

Conclusion

Connecting PHP to MySQL is an essential skill for building dynamic and data-driven web applications. By following these steps, you can establish a connection to a MySQL database and start querying and manipulating data. From here, you can build robust web applications that interact with your database to provide valuable content and functionality to users. Remember to handle database connections securely and efficiently to ensure the reliability and security of your application.