Module 3 was fairly different than the past two modules because it dealt with learning SQL, which is a completely different language than PHP and HTML. In Module 2, PHP was an object orienting programming language which you can implement into HTML in order to make it more versatile. SQL is a language that deals with databases, and how to create tables and input values into them. Unlike PHP, the syntax for SQL is much less complicated, which made it my favorite module. Regardless of whether or not you have dealt with SQL before, learning it is a breeze due to the fact that the concepts and syntax are very straightforward. There were no Codeacademy tutorials for this module, so we utilized W3School tutorials and Youtube tutorials from the NewBoston in order to familiarize ourselves with SQL. We used mySQL to program with SQL, which is a platform which allows you to write SQL code. We also used the Dynamic Websites Handbook to get more fluent with SQL, and lastly utilized Zend PHP and mySQL tutorials which had exercises that were not present in the other mediums used to learn SQL.
While Codeacademy tutorials were not present in this module, tutorials from Newboston did an exceptional job in filling that void for me. The tutorials are led by Bucky Roberts, who has a very unique way of teaching. Throughout his tutorials, he took us through hands on code to familiarize us with concepts that are associated with mySQL. He guided us step by step in getting started with PHPmyAdmin, and then exploring all of the fascinating things you can do in mySQL, such as organizing tables based on the order, or grouping categories in the table, etc. The most unique thing about Bucky's tutorials is how he makes learning an enjoyable experience. Through his humor and teaching methods, he made learning mySQL seem less like a burden and more like a fun activity.
My learning artifact for Module 3 will be Zend's PHP and mySQL tutorials. In these tutorials, I was able to apply whatever I learned in PHP and apply it to the mySQL module. In one of the exercises, I created a webpage with a databse using a PHP function. What I found the most fascinating about these tutorials was the fact that we were able to merge so many languages together in order to design a webpage. We mixed HTML, CSS, PHP, and mySQL to design the page. You can find the tutorial below!
