Installing WordPress on your computer gives you a perfect testing ground for experimentation, theme development, plugin testing, and website development. This course is designed for developers and users who want to install and configure WordPress locally on a Mac with MAMP, the open-source server/database/scripting language combo that sets the stage for more serious WordPress development. Author Morten Rand-Hendriksen covers the configuration options and usage scenarios to get you started working in WordPress quickly.

MAMP Pro is the commercial, professional grade version of the classic local server environment for OS X: MAMP. Designed for professional web developers and programmers, MAMP PRO allows easy installation and administration of their development environment under Mac OS X.

Installing Apache, MySQL, and PHP with David Gassner describes how to install and perform the initial configuration of Apache, MySQL, and PHP, known as the AMP stack, on a local development computer. Chapters are devoted to multiple installation approaches: installing the components separately on both Windows and Mac, installing the pre-packaged Apache and MySQL distributions in WampServer on Windows and MAMP on Mac, and installing the cross-platform XAMPP on both Mac and Windows. Exercise files are included with the course.

VirtualHostX 3 is the easiest way to host and share multiple websites on your Mac. Its the perfect solution for web designers working on more than one project at a time. With VirtualHostX you can easily create and manage Apache virtual hosts with just a few clicks.

In WordPress 3.0: Creating and Editing Custom Themes, author Chris Coyier shows how to build a custom WordPress theme from scratch and satisfy common client requests. The course covers steps necessary to build a theme using a complete workflow with Photoshop, HTML, CSS, and WordPress 3.0. Also included are tutorials on enhancing a WordPress site with javascript, using plugins, and ensuring site security. Exercise files accompany the course.

Join David Gassner in Dreamweaver CS5 with PHP and MySQL as he explains how to add dynamic data to a PHPenabled web site in Dreamweaver CS5. This course shows how to plan and create a MySQL database, define a PHPenabled site in Dreamweaver CS5, connect the site to the database, and manage and present dynamic data. Dreamweaver CS5 features are demonstrated throughout the video series, including PHP custom class introspection and sitespecific code hinting. Exercise files are included with the course.

In WordPress 3.0: Creating and Editing Custom Themes, author Chris Coyier shows how to build a custom WordPress theme from scratch and satisfy common client requests. The course covers steps necessary to build a theme using a complete workflow with Photoshop, HTML, CSS, and WordPress 3.0. Also included are tutorials on enhancing a WordPress site with javascript, using plugins, and ensuring site security. Exercise files accompany the course.

In this course, we’ll review the process of building custom WordPress widgets using the WordPress API and advanced development techniques. This course begins at ground zero, and assumes that you have no experience with WordPress widget development. Stick with me for a few hours, and you’ll learn a lot! Let’s get to it.

In WordPress: Creating Custom Widgets and Plugins, Drew Falkman teaches PHP developers how to create custom functionality for WordPress 2.0 through 3.0 using widgets and plugins. This course starts by installing and setting up WordPress 3.0 on both Mac and Windows, then provides an in-depth look at tasks related to these WordPress add-ons: installing and administering, building and customizing, creating editable options and database tables, working with posts and pages, and utilizing jQuery and AJAX. There are also tutorials dedicated to promoting a widget or plugin, adding security, and localizing the interface. Exercise files are included with the course.

Join David Gassner in Dreamweaver CS5 with PHP and MySQL as he explains how to add dynamic data to a PHPenabled web site in Dreamweaver CS5. This course shows how to plan and create a MySQL database, define a PHPenabled site in Dreamweaver CS5, connect the site to the database, and manage and present dynamic data. Dreamweaver CS5 features are demonstrated throughout the video series, including PHP custom class introspection and sitespecific code hinting. Exercise files are included with the course.