rookie needs help with mysql

[jenystr]

I have a friend that has a web site written in php/mysql. I have downloaded the necessary code and have installed apache, php and mysql on to my pc and it is working.

I need to know how I can get my friends existing web site exported and ftp'd to my pc? His web master has abandoned him. I am interested in the technology so I am giving it a shot.

Given that the only access he as is ftp, how can I export the sql database and do I simple ftp the php files to my pc? I don't know if a theme was used or developed for this web site.

Basically all I have is the ability to ftp to the site. Can it be done? If so can you put together the few steps to do it for me?

Thanks

 

[lgarner]

If you can ftp PHP pages to the site, you could use myPHPAdmin to dump the database. Then ftp the resulting file to your server and import it.

 

[jenystr]

I do have myphpadmin loaded and configured on my pc. Am I running it on my pc against the server with an ip address or are you saying that there is myphpadmin on the server itself that can be run against the server sql database?

 

[jenystr]

Remember I have to get the database from the server first. I don't have a copy of it to make changes yet. All I have is ftp to get to the server and can bring the php type files back to my pc. I expect I have to somehow use phpmyadmin to export the database out of the server database. How do I do that?

 

[lgarner]

PhpMyAdmin can be used against any MySQL database server, provided you can communicate with it an have permission to do so. You probably don't. You'll need to get it installed on the server. If you can upload files to the server, those files can be phpMyAdmin provided you can upload and then execute PHP programs. Most likely you can. I think you'll need to configure phpMyAdmin first since you probably have no way to edit a file once it's uploaded. You also need to know the username and password for your database, of course.

If you can get phpMyAdmin working on the server, you will first export the database to a file where you can download it. Then, download it to your PC. Then import it to your local database.

 

[jenystr]

Isn't it a fair assumption that the previous web master must have had phpmyadmin available to him on the web server? Doesn't that come with any web hosting you pay for? It seems silly that everyone who has a web site must load their own phpmyadmin to administer their site.

If I am hearing you correctly, I need to run phpmyadmin on the remote server and export the database to a file. Along with that file I also need to ftp all php type files to my pc. I can then import the database and away I go.

 

[lgarner]

You are hearing correctly. It's not a fair assumption that phpMyAdmin is installed, though. That is a method, fairly popular, of administering MySQL. I do not have it on my servers. It's not necessarily part of web hosting, though it often is included.

Contact the hosting provider and ask if it's already there. From your first post I got the impression that this might not be possible. Also you said that the only access available was FTP, so I started with getting a web-based admin utility uploaded. If that's not necessary, then great. Just dump the database and download it.