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PHP Build a Simple PHP Application Getting Started with PHP Previewing the Final Project

May Loh
May Loh
5,213 Points
Posted by May Loh
May Loh
5,213 Points

Must a local database be set up before I can learn and practise PHP?

I've just started the PHP track. Do I need to set up a local database on my computer? I'm using a Mac.

4 Answers

David Makowski
David Makowski
13,676 Points

You have two courses in the Php-Track "Building a simple php app" and "enhancing a simple php app", which do not use any database at all. After that there is a database course which shows you how to set-up a database and after that they show you how to use that database in the app you made in the courses before.

So its the "get all, step by step and be happy" packet. The php track is very good in my opinion because youre using every new feature you learn on one app, which gets better, bigger and more complex step by step. I learned a lot ;-)

May Loh
May Loh
5,213 Points
May Loh
May Loh
5,213 Points

Thank you! I'll do just that!

Ken Alger
STAFF
Ken Alger
Treehouse Teacher
Ken Alger
Ken Alger
Treehouse Teacher

Kia;

Not necessarily, it depends on what you are hoping to achieve. You can certainly learn quite a bit of PHP without getting into the database aspects, but PHP and databases are often found together and having the working knowledge of how the two connect and interact would be, in my opinion, vital to real world development and employment.

Happy coding,

Ken

Philip Cox
Philip Cox
14,818 Points
Philip Cox
Philip Cox
14,818 Points

I would recommend getting used it. MAMP is a one click install no hassle server environment. There are many other ways, but this is the easiest. :)

May Loh
May Loh
5,213 Points
May Loh
May Loh
5,213 Points

Thank you, I will work towards that!

Stephen Van Delinder
Stephen Van Delinder
21,457 Points
Stephen Van Delinder
Stephen Van Delinder
21,457 Points

A local development server is ideal, but I like to use http://sandbox.onlinephpfunctions.com/ for quick experiments throughout lessons as well. It can be much faster to spot simple errors in code in the objective sections.