Question for David Powers re file 'quotations.sql'

Question

It would appear from the first few lines of this file (shown
below) that it
first checks if a table "quotations" already exists, and if
so deletes it. Then
it creates a new version, and populates it with the following
data.
Is this correct?
Clancy
-- Table structure for table `quotations`
DROP TABLE IF EXISTS `quotations`;
CREATE TABLE `quotations` (
`quote_id` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL auto_increment,
`quotation` varchar(255) NOT NULL default '',
`first_name` varchar(30) NOT NULL default '',
`family_name` varchar(30) NOT NULL default '',
PRIMARY KEY (`quote_id`)
) ENGINE=MyISAM DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1;
-- Dumping data for table `quotations`
INSERT INTO `quotations` VALUES (1, 'My disability is ......'
Clancy

Answer 1

Clancy wrote:
> I thought so. As the sql file redefines the table, is it
necessary to define
> the table at all before running the file?
The purpose of the preceding section is to teach you how to
define a
table. If all you're interested in is copying my table
structure, feel
free to do so. However, I believe in the principle of
teaching a man to
fish, rather than giving a man a fish.
> I have been thinking about how to set up a database for
my photo album, and
> wondering how to order it. If I have a text file, like
'quotations.sql', it
> looks as if the easiest way to change the order of the
photos is to swap the
> lines in the text file, and then reload the whole
database.
If that's your conclusion, then I'm afraid that you have
failed to
understand the fundamental principles of how a database
works. The order
in which records are entered is totally irrelevant. You use
SQL to
display them in whichever order you require.
David Powers, Adobe Community Expert
Author, "Foundation PHP for Dreamweaver 8" (friends of ED)
Author, "PHP Solutions" (friends of ED)
http://foundationphp.com/