One of the defining features of PHP is the ease with which you can connect to and manipulate databases. PHP implements functions for connecting to a wide range of databases systems: MySQL, Oracle, MSSQL, Interbase, dBase, and many more. While there are many commercial database systems which cost thousands of dollars and provide thousands of components, the Internet community provides solutions for low-budget users as well. MySQL, for example, doesn’t require you to purchase a license if you don’t use it for commercial activities.

Most of the manipulating of any database is done while using SQL, which stands for Structured Query Language. This provides standard syntaxes by

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