Some database questions from a nOOb

I was wondering if anyone knew of any opensource projects similar to NOLA? Trying to do a few things here.
1: learn MySQL and Postgres.
2: Learn PHP
3: Actually build a stable database that works the way I need it.
I am having a hard time getting NOLA to install. That might have something to do with Plesk on the sever. I plan and trying it on a dedicated box soon, all from scratch. Basicly I need what NOLA does but I need to hack it and tailor it as I see fit.
So if you know of anything similar I can play with that would be great.
The other option is to have someone actualy build it from scratch. If anyone is thinking that they may want to take on a job like this my ears are listening.
Thanks in advance.

So you are looking for a complete enterprise accounting package in PHP and PostgreSQL? A much better choice than MySQL, IMHO. Why are you interested in custom coding of a package like this? That could be quite a large job.

Mainly to learn it. Kinda like taking a motor apart and putting it back together. I seem to pick stuff up faster if I can figure out how a apllication works, why it does what it does, and how to make it do something different. But I do need something like this built. In fact the project was orginaly started about 2 years ago in Access But the guy who was building could not produce a working product in a timely fashion, payment of the developement stoped because of that reason too. The project stoped. We almost contracted another to pick it back up and start it in PostGres and PHP, but for some reason the contract did not reflect what was verbaly agreed upon. It didn't go any further than that . So now I am in this doing two things.
Learning a little bit about databases and trying to find someone who allready does. In the mean time I thought I would tinker around with the idea and try to learn a thing or two untill we found some one who could actually build it. Because I will probably have to admin it to some degree and would help if I knew what I was doing if I had to do so. You never know, in my tinkerings I might beable to make a crude version of what I am actualy looking for. But it does need to happen by the end of this year.

PS It's a bit more complex that a accounting package. Yes it needs to do that. But it also need to handle order processing for about 3500+ clients tie that into a inventory. I really cant explain it in text....It's even hard to explain all the functions in person, you would have to see the operation before you could fully understand what it actually need to be built.

As I said, it could be a tall order . But PostgreSQL is definitely the way to go. Spend some time in the PostgreSQL forum here and at http://techdocs.postgresql.org/ and you will get more of a feel for why.

BTW, there are a couple of PostgreSQL web-based accounting packages, coded in Perl. At least these could provide a way to get started on a PHP version:

SQL-Ledger (a very mature, established app)
XIWA (I don't know much about this one)

Each of these above apps has some serious security concerns, though, if they are to be run on an external webserver.

As far as I'm concerned, a MySQL-based accounting/commerce package isn't worth the bits it occupies to download. It takes so much more coding in PHP to work around the deficiences such as lack of views, triggers, etc... not to mention the BETA quality of MySQL's referential integrity and transactions, that it's worth the time it takes to learn PostgreSQL. And, it's a much easier step to progress to Oracle, if the need comes up.