Setting up Reporting and the Analytic Environment

Name: Setting up Reporting and the Analytic Environment
Author: Eric Grose

Learn how to successfully set up your reporting and analytic environment

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 3 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

Hello, my name is Eric, and in these lessons, you'll learn how to correctly set up your reporting and analytic environment. In this lesson, I will show you how to install the proper software to allow you access to your reporting and analytic environment. That software is known as EXAM. EXAM is a free and open source software that provides a local web server for testing and deploying web applications. It comes with Apache, MySQL, and PHP, which are some of the most popular technologies used for building dynamic websites, web applications, and databases, which we'll be using in this course. To get started, go to the EXAM website at apachefriends.org, backslashindex.html, and on this page, you'll see the download button with the associated operating systems. Click on the appropriate operating system for your device, and that should bring you to a new page where your download should start automatically, but if it doesn't, click the link here. Now, my download is started, which may take a few minutes, so please be patient. Okay, now that my installer is downloaded, we can go ahead and click on it to start the install process. Similar to other software, it's going to ask you if you'd like to make changes to your device. Go ahead and click yes, which will now bring up our install wizard. First, we're going to get a warning here that says we're missing right permissions, which is a little bit out of scope for this course, so just go ahead and click okay. So now we're in the setup wizard, so go ahead and click next, and just leave all these checked. It should come default with all these checked, but go ahead and make sure that each one of these services is checked, specifically my SQL and PHP, my admin. Go ahead and leave those all checked and hit next, and also I recommend just to go ahead and install it at the default location on the C drive. It's the most seamless way to install Xamp on your device. So go ahead and click next, select your language, and now it's ready to begin its install. So go ahead and click next, and that will initiate the install process, which also takes some time, so please be patient. Okay, great. The install process has completed, so go ahead and leave this box checked to start the control panel now, and click finished. That's going to launch the Xamp control panel. This is the graphical user interface that allows you to manage various components of Xamp, such as Apache and MySQL, which we'll be using for this course. Now, if you didn't leave that box checked, you can simply launch this by going to your start menu and searching for Xamp control panel. In the control panel, you'll see the status of various components. To start a component, simply click on this start button here, and what it will show you is the active ports that it's using, as well as the PIDs, which is, again, a little bit out of the scope for this course, but what we're going to see here is this is going to turn green indicating that this service is now active. Go ahead and do the same thing from MySQL by clicking the start button here. You see our ports, our PIDs, as well as the green status here. Well, let's just go ahead and check to see if our instance is active. Going back to your browser, open a new tab, and put in localhost, which is a fancy way of just saying using your computer, and backslash, PHP, myadmin, and run that. Now we'll bring us to our PHP, myadmin, that has my SQL. So, congratulations, you've successfully installed and set up Xamp on your computer. Now you can use it to test web applications, databases, and all of this on your local machine. Thanks for watching. Stay tuned for the next lesson where I show you how to troubleshoot some of the common errors that arise when setting up your reporting and analytics environment.

Intermediate Provider : Eric Grose 3 Lessons · 10m in English

Course Description

Getting an environment configured can be the most confusing step to someone who is just starting to learn SQL. It requires intimate knowledge of what programs to install, which services to turn on, and how these all intertwine to create the reporting and analytic environment. In these lessons, we’ll provide detailed instructions on how to perform all the necessary steps to set up an environment correctly. We’ll also review some common issues that arise when setting up an environment and how to troubleshoot error messages.

Getting a properly configured environment is oftentimes a barrier to entry for those attempting to learn SQL. Even though this ecosystem has progressed dramatically over the last couple years, documentation is oftentimes confusing. We’ll help you gain gain an understanding of the key elements included in today’s SQL reporting and analytic environment and get started on your journey to learn SQL.

What You'll Learn

Install XAMPP software and turn on the Apache and MySQL services correctly
Configure a SQL reporting and analytic environment from start to finish
Troubleshoot common issues and error messages that arise during environment setup
Connect to the reporting environment once it is properly configured
Identify the key elements included in today's SQL reporting and analytic environment

Key Takeaways

Setting up a properly configured environment is often the most confusing barrier to entry for those just starting to learn SQL.
Configuring the environment requires knowing which programs to install, which services to turn on, and how they intertwine to create the reporting and analytic environment.
The course provides detailed, step-by-step instructions for performing all the necessary setup steps correctly.
Common issues arise when setting up an environment, and the lessons cover how to troubleshoot the resulting error messages.
Although the SQL ecosystem has progressed dramatically over recent years, its documentation is often confusing, which this course helps clarify.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is this course for?

It is aimed at people who are just starting to learn SQL and need to get a reporting and analytic environment configured correctly, since environment setup is often a barrier to entry.

What does this course cover?

It covers installing the proper software, including XAMPP, and turning on Apache and MySQL services correctly, troubleshooting common setup issues and error messages, and connecting to the reporting environment.

What will I be able to do after taking it?

You will understand how to install XAMPP and turn on Apache and MySQL services correctly, recognize common troubleshooting issues, and understand the key elements included in the SQL reporting and analytic environment.

What lessons are included?

The course includes three lessons: Installing Proper Software, Troubleshooting, and Connecting to Reporting Environment.

What skills does this course help build?

It supports skills such as Analytical Skills, Database Reporting Software, SQL Plan Management, SQL Server Analysis Services, SQL Server Reporting Services, and SQL Tuning.