Database Design For Developing 'Quiz' Web Application using PHP and MySQL

Question

So, I\'m trying to learn PHP and MySQL (I have a basic understanding of both; I\'ve read the first half of both Head First SQL and Head First PHP & MySQL) and I figure t

Answer 1

I am not sure how new you are to programming in general, but even if you are just getting started, I would recommend you use a framework.

Using a framework will guide you by providing best-practice implementations of the tools you'll need in your project.

I personally use Symfony for php projects, and I would suggest you check out their guides and tutorials. Symfony is a well-established framework and it's based on widely accepted designs.

To answer your question more directly, though, I would suggest something like this for your application:

 - user
  - id (PK)
  - last_name
  - first_name
  - email
  - gender


 - quiz
  - id (PK)
  - title


 - quiz_question
  - id (PK)
  - quiz_id (FK)
  - text

 - quiz_question_option
  - id (PK)
  - quiz_question_id (FK)
  - text
  - is_correct

 - quiz_user_answer
   - id (PK)
   - quiz_question_id (FK)
   - quiz_question_option_id  // this is the answer.

The above would allow you to define multiple quizes each having multiple questions and create answer sets (a user's set of answers to a quiz) and record each answer.

Hope that helps :)