Database FAQ

Note: This article is a work in progress. Please use the page comments or an appropriate moodle.org forum for any recommendations/suggestions for improvement.

Databases and Moodle

When talking about Moodle and databases there are actually two different kind of things which can be meant:

a) The Moodle activity named Database

b) The database on your server where Moodle stores all its content

a) Database activity module

Moodle Docs

• Category:Database activity module
• Database activity module
• Database activity module FAQ
• Database activity module forum
• How do I import and export database entries?

b) Moodle database

Moodle Docs

• Category:DB
• Databases forum
• Development:Database schema introduction
• Development:Database Schema - The files available here are in DBDesigner 4 format.

DBDesigner 4 is a schema drawing program for MySQL data bases released under GPL.

• Create Moodle site database

Moodle Forums

• "Moodle database design issues I'd like to tackle/see tackled" in the Moodle forum (from 2007).
• MySQL workbench file for download (for using with MySQL Workbench). - Related forum discussion: Referential integrity in Moodle

Miscellaneous

• "Database abstraction layers and Moodle" from Christopher Douce's blog (Open University)

Moodle core libraries

Moodle's core libraries provide lots of functions for working with the database.

• /lib/datalib.php for higher level functions
• /lib/dmllib.php for lower level functions

XMLDB

XMLDB stores the database definition in an XML format that can be used to install Moodle on any database.

• Development:Database
• Development:XMLDB Documentation
• Development:XMLDB defining an XML structure#The XMLDB editor
• XMLDB editor
• Category:XMLDB

Introduction to Moodle Programming course:

• Unit 7 - Part A: Block Basics: Create a Database Table for the Block
• Unit 7 - Appendix B: The XMLDB Editor

Different kinds of databases

• MySQL
• MSSQL - see Installing MSSQL for PHP
• Oracle - see Installing Oracle for PHP
• PostgreSQL

New database layer in Moodle 2.0

• See Development:DB_layer_2.0.
• For new features in Moodle 2.0 see Development:Coding#Database.
• Delegated transactions on Moodle Docs and the related forum discussion on Database transactions in Moodle

See also:

• Moodle Documentation Forum discussion about Categories "DB" and "Database"