>How long did it take you to pickup MySql? I'm proficient in Databases generally, so I haven't got a problem there.

It's pretty clean sql with joins if you want them. I've used a variety of databases and there's no surprises here.

The host should give you a gui interface for setup which is great and then it's just the connectivity.

There's any number of classes phpclasses.org which will a) simplify b) teach you how it's done.