FROM UNDERSTANDING TO PRACTICE

Build the skill. Apply the thinking.

A substantial practical programme from relational foundations to production-oriented PHP/MySQL systems. Build a fictional service business platform, work through concurrent transactions and payment-state design, and practise secure identity, private files, testing, deployment and recovery. Includes two assessed projects and an integrated capstone. This is professional skills training, not an accredited degree or academic-credit award. Course notes are read inside the learning platform.

What you’ll learn

  • Model business relationships with primary keys, foreign keys and appropriate constraints.
  • Write SQL queries, joins and reports and evaluate indexing with query plans.
  • Implement PHP request handling, server validation and prepared PDO statements.
  • Protect accounts, sessions, ownership boundaries and private uploads.
  • Design transaction-safe workflows and idempotent payment confirmation.
  • Deploy, test, back up and restore a documented business application.

Before you begin

Basic computer skills and familiarity with HTML forms are helpful; no previous SQL knowledge is required.
A computer with a code editor and a supported PHP 8 runtime with PDO MySQL and fileinfo extensions.
An isolated MySQL or compatible MariaDB training database; never use production customer data for exercises.

Your curriculum

Work through the topics in order, then test your understanding with quizzes and practical assignments.

1. Relational foundations and SQL4 topics
From a business question to a relational model Free topic ↗
Create tables with types, keys and meaningful constraints 65 min + practice · Locked
Read and change data deliberately with SQL 65 min + practice · Locked
Joins, aggregation and avoiding misleading totals 65 min + practice · Locked
2. PHP request handling and PDO4 topics
PHP values, functions and explicit business rules 70 min + practice · Locked
Requests, routing, templates and response contracts 70 min + practice · Locked
Server validation and context-aware output escaping 70 min + practice · Locked
PDO connections, prepared statements and query boundaries 70 min + practice · Locked
3. Data integrity, scale and controlled change4 topics
Normalisation, historical snapshots and schema evolution 75 min + practice · Locked
Indexes, query plans and pagination that scales 75 min + practice · Locked
Transactions, row locks and concurrent business operations 75 min + practice · Locked
Migrations, backups and restoring compatible data 75 min + practice · Locked
4. Identity, permissions and private resources4 topics
Account registration, password hashing and secure recovery 75 min + practice · Locked
Secure sessions and state-changing request protection 75 min + practice · Locked
Roles, ownership and protection against direct record access 75 min + practice · Locked
Validate uploads and serve private files safely 75 min + practice · Locked
5. Real business workflows and reliable integrations4 topics
Project states, quotations and auditable changes 80 min + practice · Locked
Payment states, trusted verification and idempotent fulfilment 80 min + practice · Locked
Build bounded JSON endpoints for a responsive interface 80 min + practice · Locked
Reliable notifications, background jobs and operational logs 80 min + practice · Locked
6. Verification, deployment and capstone delivery4 topics
Test business invariants and security boundaries 85 min + practice · Locked
Configure and release a PHP/MySQL system on shared hosting 85 min + practice · Locked
Monitor integrity, recover from incidents and maintain the system 85 min + practice · Locked
Capstone: a secure service-business platform 85 min + practice · Locked

Questions about learning

What is free?

The first published topic is open to everyone. The remaining topics unlock with one verified TZS 50,000 payment for this course.

Is this a recurring subscription?

No. This release uses one-time course access, without automatic renewals.

Can I download course notes?

Notes and diagrams are read inside your course workspace. There is no notes download option.

What do I need for a certificate?

Complete all published topics, pass required quizzes and receive instructor approval for required projects.

Is this an accredited degree?

This is professional skills training with a B-tech completion certificate. It does not award an accredited academic degree.

What language are the lessons in?

The course notes are currently in English. The website interface supports English and Kiswahili.