Newb Databse question....

if you have a database set up for a site that is running a forum, do you need to set up another database if you want to run other scripts that use them, lets say a news box or a calender? or can you use the existing one?

you can use the existing database. you just need to make sure there is a seperate table for the other scripts, and chances are you'll have a ton of tables there just for the forum, so it may be confusing if you were to use phpMyAdmin and read all the tables, but i don't see any reason as to why you can't just use the existing database.

Thanks =) I don't know much about databases and this hosting company charges extra for additional ones.... Now I have to figure out the tables... hmmm.

Depends how many database they allow you to create. Like mine is limited to your webspace, so you can create as many as you like, technically. But like what Squid say, you can use the same database, as long as the tables names aren't the same.

Oops. I double checked and the plan has allocation for 2 databases. Would it be better then to create a second one for the other stuff?

yup, it would be much better.

Thanks again =)

no problem.

Just to add a little something, using more than one database is often quicker than using just one database (processing time wise). So if you can use more than one, go for it!