Phpmyadmin installation

I found, (I know I am not the first person to find this script, so sorry if it sounds that way, I just mean me personally) a great script called phpmyadmin. It is super useful if you don't like those mysql GUIs or if you need to access your database from the web, and don't have access to a telnet/SSH client or (if you are like me), your mysql server does not function properly and as a result you are unable to connect to it via telnet/SSH. Now the best thing about php is that is works for most any platform, and the language remains the same. So if you find a php script, and it says it can only run on *nix, (some do) then rejoice because it most likely isn't true. As far as I know, php handles all php scripts the same way on different operating systems. So getting back to phpmyadmin. Phpmyadmin is a script that will let you access your mysql database via the web, useful if you are leaving for a while, i.e. vacation, and wish to check on your server.
First step
Well first you have to download it of course. So, download it from http://www.phpwizard.net/projects/phpMyAdmin/ And then unzip it and extract it to your webpage folder. Now here is some advice, phpmyadmin could be used against you, lets say somebody decided to mess with your database, well, that means you have to protect your folder.
Protecting phpmyadmin Now if are running *nix then you can simply chmod phpmyadmin to prevent people from tampering with your data. But if you are running windows, then it isn't so simple. I have heard ftp clients chmod files, but I am not sure if they only chmod them for ftp browsing or if it works with http as well. and use .htaccess. Another thing to do is to make sure that users cannot browse your directories, that way you can make sure they don't find your folders. And it is a good idea to name your folder something very odd that only you'll know, kind of a password. Name your folder something cryptic only you will know.
Installing phpmyadmin
Installing phpmyadmin isn't too hard. If you have the mysql database on your computer, it is easier, if not you will need to know things that your provider may have e-mailed to you, like the address of the mysql database. To install all you need to do is access the config.inc.php file, and modify some settings. The first line to edit will look like(for this tutorial we are going to assume that you have mysql on your computer, as with a provider this information was most likely already given to you:
$cfg['PmaAbsoluteUri'] = ''; //Here you add in your url, you can use your IP or an actualy url
After this, there will be a list of lines about your mysql database and how to access it, they will look like this:
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['host'] = 'localhost'; //put the address of the database here, if it is on your computer just leave localhost
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['port'] = ''; //here add in the port where mysql is allowing access, leaving it empty will mean the default port, which I believe is 3306
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['user'] = 'root'; //the username of the root of the mysql database, or if you don't have root just add in your own username
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['password'] = ''; //password for the "root" user, you only need this if you are using config
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['only_db'] = ''; //you can use this to only allow access to one databse
There are some more, but they aren't useful right now, I may add them later
Well, those are the settings you will need to modify to start using phpmyadmin.
A few notices one thing is that there may be errors with phpmyadmin by default. Well, really only one, there can be no spaces before <? and after ?> I found 2 xtra blank lines after ?> which were causing me errors, so make sure you check for that. And also, you may encounter an error with iconv or recode, if so, go into your config file, and change the setting
$cfg['AllowAnywhereRecoding']
to false.
Thas all folks That is it. Not so bad is it? And now you can have access to your mysql database from the web. Plus phpmyadmin provides a nice way of entering information in a mysql databse, because all you need to do is click insert row. Much easier for people who are new to mysql and are looking for something easy use to interact with mysql.

EDIT: I forgot to mention one thing, in the config file, there are a few sets of variables, all looking the same, only edit the first set. So you may find
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['host'] = 'localhost';
2 or 3 times, you only need to edit the first one.

phpmyadmin tends to be fairly slow though. That is why I don't use it, it is pretty slow, and tends to take a bit too much of bandwidth for me. Though I agree it is perfect for people just getting into mysql databases.

Ugh, I hate phpmyadmin. Who doesn't love the good old fashioned command prompt. When you learn all the commands, it is a breeze to use, and pretty fun to stare at too. :) Seriously, I like using the command prompt, phpmyadmin, is just too, user-friendly. It simplifies things too much, it seems like whenever a powerful tool is made, things are made to simplify it, well, lets not simplify, lets complicate and give it MORE power. I love that command prompt.