Rating: 5 stars

Even though I could setup a datasource fairly easily (in this case a MySQL DB) XData did not actually connect to that. Instead it connected to the WordPress DB. Even when connecting to the WordPress DB it would not accept any SELECT query.

Waste of my patient hour.

Rating: 1 star

This plugin has very helpful and extensive documentation – which all amount to nothing since I couldn’t get the thing to work.

It would not accept a Mysql database as source initially – and when I did get it to finally accept my settings, it showed the wrong database – which is a bit bizarre.

As to the query – both hand-input & the so-called visual designer – neither worked or even allowed me to save the query.

I’ve wasted a good 3 hours on this piece of rubbish and have to ask whether the developer actually tested it before advertising its presence.

Rating: 1 star

Tried several times to add MySQL data sources using known credentials & localhost, wouldn’t do a thing when I pressed the test button, then wouldn’t save anything. Tried several times. I can query the db using other tools as well as phpMyAdmin, but this plugin just wouldn’t do a thing. Then when I deleted the plugin, it didn’t clean up after itself and left all the xdata tables in the db.

Rating: 5 stars

This is a great plugin that has enabled rich content on my site from an external data source.

It is extremely powerful and allows you to configure multiple data sources, converting them to XML, and allowing you to format the output using XSLT for your blog.

I found the developer extremely helpful in assisting me with an issue (that I had brought upon myself). This was beyond the call of duty as an optional support subscription is normally required.

If you are not familiar with connecting to MYSQL and using XML/XSLT to transform the data there is plenty of info to be found online, including XData’s own comprehensive documentation and video walkthroughs.