On install
I got an error that said the php_pdo_mysql extension is required. I added the extension to php.ini, restarted apache, and tried again.
I got an error similar to this:
Exception printing is disabled by default for security reasons.
Error log record number: 600807966
I looked around the web and found that to display errors, you need to rename MAGENTO_ROOT/errors/local.xml.sample to MAGENTO_ROOT/errors/local.xml. Then errors can be displayed.
Then got an error similar to:
“SQLSTATE[42000]: Syntax error or access violation: 1067 Invalid default value for ‘period'”
Found the solution at:
http://www.magentocommerce.com/boards/viewthread/263672/
ALTER TABLE `coupon_aggregated` CHANGE COLUMN `period` `period` DATE NOT NULL DEFAULT ‘0000-00-00’
Finally it installed!
Watching the Magento U Video:
I signed up for Magento U and started to watch the video. The first thing the developer in the video says is how difficult and frustrating Magento is…. Not very encouraging to developers starting out. He warns of how he stayed up late nights figuring out the complexities of Magento. That’s not too bad if it’s something you really want to learn.
However, in later videos he mentions that Magento 2 fixes some quirks in the current version of Magento. Upon further Googling, I have found that Magento 2 is coming out in Mid – 2012. That is maybe 7 months away from the time of this writing. Then, the fact that breaks all backs, Magento 2 will be a total REWRITE!. Which means everything learned today will most likely be thrown away or just used “in theory” for the future. To me stressing out on something complex only to use it for 7 months, then learn a whole new system is not worth it. This is why I chose to use LemonStand.