Installing MySQL and MariaDB (Videos)
Awhile back, I wrote up some instructions for doing a basic install of MySQL on Windows, including the steps to secure it. Now that I’m working on another MySQL book, I decided to start putting together some videos to go with it and I’ve created a couple on MySQL...
How to Perform a Basic MySQL Installation in Windows
One of the nice features of MySQL as a database software is its noinstall option in which you download the files themselves and perform a manual installation that takes just under a gigabyte of space on your drive. If you’re a developer or a student, this means you can...
How To Create a Local WordPress site with XAMPP
XAMPP is one of many AMP software stacks (Apache – MySQL – PHP) that can be used to create a local web development environment for design and testing. It automatically installs and configures Apache as a web server so that you can view your pages through http://localhost, MySQL as...
Calculated Fields in CiviCRM
One of CiviCRM’s strengths is the ability to add custom fields to hold specific information about your contacts. One thing it doesn’t offer (yet) is a calculated field type that will present the results of calculations of other fields. While calculated fields are generally discouraged in relational database design,...
Importing Case Data into CiviCase
Migrating to CiviCase On a recent project, I setup CiviCRM and CiviCase to enable a local organization to better manage its client database. The old database had been developed in Borland Paradox and was quickly becoming unusable. As a free and open source solution, CiviCRM turned out to be just...
MySQL User Defined Function Example: Data Cleanup
(Updated June 9, 2016) The Challenge One of my current projects involves migrating a large amount of data away from an old custom Borland Paradox application into a new CiviCRM system. As with too many quickly-constructed apps, this old Paradox database wasn’t especially well designed and, among other the other challenges...
Installing MySQL on Mac OS X El Capitan
A few months ago, I wrote about how to install MySQL on Windows with IIS. Now I want to show you how to create an AMP web programming stack (Apache, MySQL & PHP) on Mac OS X. As with Windows, you could just go with a ready-made development environment like MAMP...
A Complete Guide to Installing MySQL and PHP with IIS
Update: A video update to this article for Windows Server 2016 / 2019 is available on YouTube. I’m leaving this version up as a general guide for issues you might encounter in this type of installation. Please take this into consideration when downloading components. One of my latest projects...
Fixing the Orange (or Red) Status Icon in WampServer
As part of my latest project, I decided to try out WampServer, the Windows development environment for developing web applications with Apache web server, MySQL database and PHP scripting (Windows, Apache, MySQL, PHP – WAMP). Packages like WampServer and EasyPHP are simplified ways to create a testing environment on...
Importing Meta Descriptions to Yoast SEO
In a recent post, I talked about using the WordPress plugin Add Meta Tags for adding meta descriptions and titles to posts and pages within my WordPress sites. It’s a simple SEO tool but works well. Nevertheless, I decided to switch my sites over to Yoast SEO for all...