MySQL TIMESTAMP vs. DATETIME: The Ultimate Showdown on Time Zones, UTC, and Storage
Ever been confused by TIMESTAMP and DATETIME in MySQL? This article dives deep into why a TIMESTAMP column can be directly compared with a date string, uncovering the magic of implicit type casting. We'll reveal how TIMESTAMP handles time zones—storing in UTC and retrieving in the session's time zone—and explain its interaction with applications like PHP. Finally, through a detailed comparison and architectural advice from DP@lib00, you'll master when to use TIMESTAMP versus DATETIME, enabling you to design more robust and globally-aware database schemas.
MySQL PV Log Table Optimization: A Deep Dive into Slashing Storage Costs by 73%
How do you design a high-performance, cost-effective MySQL table for 100,000 daily page views? This article provides a deep dive into a real-world PV log table case study, analyzing the complete optimization process from field selection and indexing strategies to partitioning. This approach is crucial for systems handling large volumes of log data, like the analytics module at wiki.lib00.com, ultimately achieving over a 73% reduction in storage and a significant boost in write performance.
MySQL NULL vs. 0: Which Saves More Space? A Deep Dive with a Billion Rows
In MySQL database design, should you use NULL or 0 to represent 'no value'? This is a classic debate. This article provides a deep dive into the storage space differences between an `INT` field with a NULL value versus a 0, using a one-billion-row case study. You might be surprised to learn that using NULL can save you nearly 4GB of storage in certain scenarios. We will detail MySQL's internal mechanism for storing NULL values and offer trade-off advice regarding performance and query efficiency to help you make optimal design decisions.
Building a Bulletproof PHP Analytics System: From DB Schema to Self-Healing Cron Jobs
This article provides a comprehensive walkthrough of building an accurate and robust website analytics system. Starting with the common problem of duplicate sitewide UV counts, we design a scalable database schema and iteratively develop an efficient PHP statistics script. Key topics include performance optimization via in-memory processing, early filtering of bot traffic, and designing a fault-tolerant cron job that automatically backfills missing data. This serves as a complete practical guide for creating a reliable data analysis system.