noob mysql questions??

[fuston05]

i have been learning php, html, css etc... i was wondering if i am just freelance web designing, and NOT hosting these sites if i will need any database programming?(mysql etc...) or is that something that their hosts will handle??? and for me to further understand i have another form of that question as well: so, i only will use my sql (or whatever database is) for my own development environment or if i work for an other company as say..web developer or something? am i understanding this correctly?

any help will be greatly appreciated.
ty

[Alan]

i have been learning php, html, css etc... i was wondering if i am just freelance web designing, and NOT hosting these sites if i will need any database programming?(mysql etc...) or is that something that their hosts will handle??? and for me to further understand i have another form of that question as well: so, i only will use my sql (or whatever database is) for my own development environment or if i work for an other company as say..web developer or something? am i understanding this correctly?

any help will be greatly appreciated.
ty

I think your a bit confused...

A database management system (DBMS) is used to store large quantities of persistent data. You do not need a database for small amounts of information, but you may want to use one regardless as they are far more powerful and efficient than using simple text files. You may decide to use plain text files or XML files etc. for small amounts of information (such as a few user accounts and pages etc.) until you are able to learn a how a DBMS works.

DBMS' sit atop a database server. If you are paying for hosting off a third party, then they will more than likely have a MySQL database server installed (and probably postgreSQL too), so you will need to log into your control panel and database management tool (such as PHPMyAdmin) to set up individual databases, tables and such.

Once the database is set up, it is just a matter of connecting to the database server using PHP. You can use the mysqli (http://www.php.net/manual/en/book.mysqli.php) extension to perform all the database operations you need. :) Any questions?

Also just to mention that MySQL is a powerful DBMS. One which is used in small, medium and enterprise level applications.