Which MySQL database tables contain the data for the stores in Magento 1.x?

Question

I would like to retrieve the following data via MySQL for each store, so that I can build a data structure in my PHP code:

READ in from MySQL:
  3. all active stores:
     3.1 store package (enterprise)  
     3.2 magento default theme (default)        
     3.3 store default theme  
     3.4 store layout
     3.5 store templates 

I tried to do a diff before changing admin data for a store, but the memory limit was reached when comparing the 2 MySQL dump files before and after the change.

Answer 1

Store information can be found in

select * from core_store

Changes from the current design can be found in

SELECT * FROM design_change

Package/theme/layout information is configuration, and can be found in

select * from core_config_data

If a value isn't set for a configuration item, there won't be a value in this table. Default configuration values are kept in each module's config.xml, under the <default /> node.

At the risk of shilling (it's my product), a tool like Commerce Bug can quickly list out the collection objects Magento uses to fetch these in the admin, which can quickly point the way toward the database tables you need.