Which shall I?

I'm creating a website that is used for friend connections basically like profile listing stuff. So I studied the Database using Ms Access, do you think I should go with ODBC or MySQL using PHP script? I'm very new to this language by the way.

Most here would suggest MySQL , msaccess is OK if you only have a few users, its awful in a multi-(concurrent)-user environment , also ODBC is about the slowest method of retrieving data, the native MySQL functions (and other DB native functions) are far quicker.

If this is a one-off small project then access is ok, if you want to do more of this sort of work then get stuck into MySQL .. or if you are on a windows platform .NET + SQLServer

I recommend MySQL. You should also put phpMyAdmin on your server to view the MySQL database online.:thumbsup:

I have expirenced, for some reason, when I had my personal server online, here next to me, that phpMyAdmin wouldn't run on Windows 2003 Possibly it was how I had the system configured, or maybe it just doesn't work on it at all.

MySQL also is what I would recommend its fast, compliant and easy to use.

@Element
So if phpmyadmin didn't work on your server, what did you use to view your mysql? I'm just a bit curious.

Well I could have used Navicat MySQL for Windows, but I only got halfway done until I went on vacation, and when I got back I didn't use the server for web stuff anymore, because I didn't have any net.

Ahh okay. I was just wondering the possibly alternatives for handling mysql on windows.

Ahh okay. I was just wondering the possibly alternatives for handling mysql on windows.
You can log into MySQL admin directly from the commandline, but its a bit annoying to be honest. I believe MySQL.com has a query builder tool but I dont know if it will run queries.

@Element: Did you check these things with phpMyAdmin:
You edited the phpMyAdmin config file mysqld-nt.exe was running in the background when you attempted to use MySQL
Not sure if Win 2003 is NTFS or not so it might be a different mysqld...exe file, but I'm quite certain MySQL will work on Win 2003

Don't remember any good free alternatives to phpmyadmin, but a very nice commercial one is SQLYog

You can log into MySQL admin directly from the commandline, but its a bit annoying to be honest. I believe MySQL.com has a query builder tool but I dont know if it will run queries.

@Element: Did you check these things with phpMyAdmin:
You edited the phpMyAdmin config file mysqld-nt.exe was running in the background when you attempted to use MySQL
Not sure if Win 2003 is NTFS or not so it might be a different mysqld...exe file, but I'm quite certain MySQL will work on Win 2003

MySQL does work on Win 2003...I've used it, and I know hosts use it all the time. Win 2003 is by default NTFS, but can be FAT32. mysqld-nt.exe refers to "NT" I believe, as it runs as a service rather than an active window.

And I'd also recommend MySQL. Large or small it does the job admirably. MS Access I wouldn't trust as far as my desk, let alone on my computer. Nasty MS junk...

I would recommend phpMyAdmin, especially if you have a server that doesn't support remote connections.

Otherwise checkout
http://www.mysqlfront.de/


and for major uploads
http://www.gossamer-threads.com/scripts/mysqlman/
doesn't have the PHP timeout limit that you may encounter

There is also another very well supported open-source database option: PostGreSQL. Many consider it as good, if not better, than MySQL. I couldn't tell you from experience since I've only used PostGres since MySQL isn't installed on my server.

Just thought I'd throw that out there.

MySQL is nearly as good as PostgreSQL in terms of features, but I've read in several places that PostgreSQL isn't as solid or stable as MySQL. I don't know these for a fact, but I remember reading them. As I read them elsewhere, don't take it as fact.

They both have their advantages and disadvantages, I'm sure of that. I couldn't exactly tell you since I'm hardly an expert of either one, let alone both. =O>

I have expirenced, for some reason, when I had my personal server online, here next to me, that phpMyAdmin wouldn't run on Windows 2003 Possibly it was how I had the system configured, or maybe it just doesn't work on it at all.
... which proves that PHP is OS-indepandant...

I have Windows 2003 Enterprise Server with apache2 + php5 + mysql5 + tomcat5 running internally...
PHP isn't 'os dependand', it's 'user error' that generates problems ;)

I'll attach an emoticon next time...