executing a sequence of mysql statements

[bird]

I need to execute a sequence of mysql statements, like
creating a new database, then creating a few tables, and
then copy some records from tables of an old database to
this new one. what's the best way to implement it with
PHP?

I think I shall write a SQL script file, and let PHP read
and execute it. Am I right here? How shall I deal with
the returns of all these SQL statements? Can I ignore them
if no error occurs?

thanks, Kevin