Does SQLZoo Cover Using SQL with PHP, C#, or Cloud Servers?

Updated

Yes, but only as supplementary reference material. SQLZoo's main learning path is a step-by-step SQL tutorial using browser-based practice tables. The "Reference: how to..." section adds a small set of pages on using SQL from application code and cloud servers: SQL with PHP on Amazon EC2, connecting to a database with C#, and an introduction to transactions. These are not part of the numbered tutorial sequence and are not required to learn SQL on the site.

What the reference section actually contains

The SQLZoo reference index lists these application-oriented entries alongside core syntax topics like SELECT, CREATE/DROP, INSERT/DELETE, dates, functions, users, and metadata:

Reference entry What it covers
Using SQL with PHP on Amazon EC2 servers Video tutorials showing how to run MySQL, PHP, and Apache on Amazon's EC2 cloud servers; also simpler instructions aimed at students following module INF08104 at Edinburgh Napier University
Using SQL with C# Code to connect to a database
An introduction to transactions Video tutorials showing how sessions can interfere with each other and how to stop it

So the cloud-server coverage is specifically PHP + MySQL + Apache on EC2, and the C# coverage is a code sample for database connection. Neither is a full course in those languages or platforms.

How this fits into SQLZoo overall

SQLZoo organizes its content into four groups, per the site's own headings:

  • Tutorials — the numbered step-by-step path (0 SELECT basics through 12 DDL), each built around a practice table such as World, Nobel, or the Movie Database.
  • Reference — "how to" pages, including the PHP/EC2, C#, and transactions items above.
  • Assessments — more involved examples for confident users.
  • Challenges — additional exercises.

The application and cloud pages sit in Reference, which means they are look-up material rather than guided lessons. If your goal is to learn SQL syntax and querying, the numbered tutorials are the relevant path; the PHP, C#, and transactions pages become useful once you already write queries and need to run them from an application or understand concurrent sessions.

When these pages are worth your time

  • You are setting up a LAMP-style stack on EC2. The PHP/EC2 videos and the Napier module instructions are aimed at getting MySQL, PHP, and Apache running together on Amazon's cloud servers.
  • You need a starting snippet for C#. The C# page provides connection code rather than a tutorial, so expect a reference example, not a walkthrough.
  • You want to understand why concurrent sessions conflict. The transactions videos demonstrate session interference and how to prevent it — useful background before working with multi-user applications.

If none of these match your situation, you can skip the section entirely; nothing in the main tutorial sequence depends on it.

Practical caveat

The reference index describes these as video tutorials and code samples, but it does not state versions, prerequisites, or how current the EC2 and C# material is. Treat them as starting points and check the specific tooling versions you plan to use against current documentation before relying on the setup steps.