Information is everything. If you write your own software, at some point you will integrate with a database. How you structure that data, how you access it, and how you manipulate it can have a massive impact on the code you write - you can make your life easier or harder depending on how you use the underlying database.

Learn the basic concepts of relational databases, data definition and data manipulation queries, normalization, transactions, and fundamental database optimizations from a pro and empower yourself with a set of problem solving tools you can apply to any situation. Students must have some proficiency with a programming language, preferably PHP or Python; familiarity with HTML or markup languages will not be sufficient. However this class is an excellent followup to the "Thinking Like A Programmer" class, where you can learn all the programming fundamentals you'll need.

You must bring a laptop - we will install all the tools you'll need to get started with databases immediately: MySQL Workbench and MySQL server, community edition. Step by step instructions will be provided prior to class to help you get your laptop ready for installation, should you choose to install yourself.

Mike has worked with databases since 1988, when he helped his mom run a custom-built database application for her business on an AT&T PC XT. He has a BS in Computer Science from WPI in Worcester, MA and has been a software engineer and database developer since 1997. Mike has managed structured data on various database platforms and has worked for the biggest companies in the world solve their big data, master data management, and data migration problems.