mySQL on Abyss installation questions

[macmesser]

Setting up Abyss web server with PHP and mySQL on my Mac Pro running 10.6.8 and I have a few questions. I just got "PHP & mySQL in easy steps" by Mike Mcgrath but the setup section is for Windows so it's not too helpful.

I installed the server and Aprellium's PHP 5.4.2 package and have a few questions regarding MySQL version and installation. The recommended version is the free MySQL Community server available at MySQL.com, but I don't know if I should install the 32bit or 64bit version. Any possible issues with either version? Am I correct in thinking that PHP will connect with MySQL directly and the web server will interact with a database only through PHP?

Thanks for insights.