Question

I have just begun learning Python. Eventually I will learn Django, as my goal is to able to do web development (video sharing/social networking). At which point should I begin learning MySQL? Do I need to know it before I even begin Django? If so, how much should I look to know before diving into Django? Thank you.

Answer 1

Having some ideas of what’s going on in ANY database will help you with your web programming endeavours. You’re best bet is to spend some time learning basic SQL just using SQLite (it comes with python) and moving what’s known as an ORM (Object Relational Mapper) such as SQLAlchemy

The current trends point towards most web based application using some form of ORM between their application and the database. The ORM provides a level of abstraction so you don’t have to know specific details of how the database works, the ORM handles it for you. The benefit of this is that you can change databases without having any major impact.

You DO however want to build a foundation in basic SQL statements. SELECT, INSERT, WHERE, etc. I’ve pointed many people to sqlzoo’s tutorial as it’s excellent.

http://sqlzoo.net/