Books & Publications
Essential reading for MySQL database administrators, developers, and architects — from beginner guides to deep-dive references.
Efficient MySQL Performance
Efficient MySQL Performance distills 20 years of MySQL expertise into 344 pages. Written for software developers, not DBAs, it's easy to digest even if you're new to MySQL.
High Performance MySQL, 3rd Edition
The classic guide to MySQL performance — covering query optimisation, schema design, indexing, replication, and high availability at scale.
High Performance MySQL, 4th Edition
The definitive guide to MySQL performance — covering query optimisation, indexing, replication, and scaling strategies.
Learning MySQL, 2nd Edition
A hands-on introduction to MySQL for beginners — covers installation, queries, and basic administration.
More SQL Antipatterns (SQL Antipatterns, Volume 2)
Avoid Common but Deadly Mistakes of Database Optimization
MySQL 8 Query Performance Tuning
A systematic, step-by-step method for finding and fixing slow MySQL queries — from EXPLAIN and EXPLAIN ANALYZE through the Performance Schema and sys schema.
MySQL and JSON: A Practical Programming Guide
A practical guide to using MySQL's JSON data type and functions — covering storage, querying, indexing, and integration with application development.
MySQL Concurrency
A guide to locking and transactions in MySQL — row and gap locks, metadata locks, isolation levels, and how to diagnose lock contention and deadlocks with the Performance and Information Schemas.
MySQL Cookbook, 4th Edition
Practical recipes for solving common MySQL problems — from data manipulation to stored procedures and replication.
MySQL Crash Course
A hands-on introduction to relational database development with MySQL, covering SQL fundamentals through stored procedures, triggers, and events in three guided projects.
MySQL History Graph
A visual graph of MySQL's version history and its major forks — Percona Server, MariaDB, Drizzle, InfiniDB, TiDB, and more — generated with GraphViz.
MySQL Reference Manual
Oracle's official, continuously updated documentation for MySQL Server — installation, SQL syntax, the InnoDB storage engine, replication, security, and every configuration option, covering all currently maintained MySQL versions.
Percona Database Performance Blog
Percona's company blog — practical, technical articles on MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB performance, tuning, troubleshooting, and operations, written mainly by Percona's own engineers.
Pro MySQL
An advanced, developer-focused tour of MySQL covering transaction processing, indexing theory, query optimization, stored procedures, replication, and MySQL's internal source architecture.
SQL Antipatterns, Volume 1
Avoiding the Pitfalls of Database Programming
TiDB Documentation
PingCAP's official documentation for TiDB — installation and cluster administration, the SQL reference, the MySQL-protocol compatibility notes, data migration from MySQL, and performance tuning, maintained across dev and stable release lines.