WebTechniques: Someone Else’s Database

“It’s common for companies to set up their servers and hosting agreements such that they must
rely on someone else’s choice of a database. If your company is in this position, it’s possible
you made a trade-off somewhere, perhaps in choosing a less expensive, virtually hosted
arrangement instead of colocating a machine. Or, perhaps your business slings code for a
number of clients, and each of them uses a different hosting provider. In this case, you may
work with a different database server and operating system for each client. Whatever the
circumstances, it’s a fact that a Web host often controls the choice of the database you use,
and your access to it.”

“… To get started with one of these database servers, first you must obtain some information from
your hosting provider. On Unix-based systems, this information usually consists of a
username, a password, and the name of the database to which you want to connect. Note that
this is the name of the database as designated by the administrator, not simply the product
name. When I use the word “database” as opposed to “database server” in this context, I mean
that portion of the database server reserved for your use. Think of it as the database server’s
equivalent of a home directory. …”
It’s common for companies to set up their servers and hosting agreements such that they must
rely on someone else’s choice of a database. If your company is in this position, it’s possible
you made a trade-off somewhere, perhaps in choosing a less expensive, virtually hosted
arrangement instead of colocating a machine. Or, perhaps your business slings code for a
number of clients, and each of them uses a different hosting provider. In this case, you may
work with a different database server and operating system f