Generating Multi-table Queries - Mastering phpMyAdmin 3.4 for Effective MySQL Management - page 211

Generating Multi-table
Queries
The Search pages in the Database or Table view are intended for single-table
lookups. This chapter covers the multi-table Query by example ( QBE ) feature
available in the Database view.
Many phpMyAdmin users work in the Table view, table by table, and thus tend
to overlook the multi-table query generator, which is a wonderful feature for fine-
tuning queries. The query generator is useful not only in multi-table situations but
also in single-table situations. It enables us to specify multiple criteria for a column, a
feature that the Search page in the Table view does not possess.
The examples in this chapter assume that a multi-user installation
of the phpMyAdmin configuration storage has been made (refer to
Chapter 1 ), and that the book-copy table created during an exercise
of Chapter 9 is still there in the marc_book database.
To open the page for this feature, we go to the Database view for a specific
database (the query generator supports working on only one database at a time)
and click on Query .
The following screenshot shows the initial QBE page. It contains the
following elements:
• A visual builder link (covered at the end of this chapter)
• Criteria columns
• An interface to add criteria rows
• An interface to add criteria columns
• A table selector