Help With Database Languages!

**G-Zus** · March 6, 2005

Hello, I am a freelance webdesigner and have been for a while now. I know HTML, and some JavaScript and I use Macromedia Dreamweaver.

I have decided for the past couple of years to ignore database languages because I was doing good just using HTML and JavaScript, and as my business increases so do the demands of customers and I can't ignore it anymore. Some things just need to be done in a database type language.

I have been trying to research these languages, PHP, XML, CSS, ASP and I am just getting more and more confused. I picked up HTML easily but when it comes to this stuff I am clueless.

I have some questions, and I would prefer websites to point me in the right direction, I don't expect you all to answer every question I have.

Where is a good site that will give me a basic rundown of PHP, XML, ASP, CSS?

What's the difference? Give me the pro's con's, etc.

Do I have to choose a language?

If so, which one? I'm sure it depends on what I'm looking to do, but what one will allow me to make webpages like cnet etc.

Is there any WYSIWYG programs for these types of languages?

I like to use Dreamweaver to help me out, but also know the code inside and out so I can make modifications when I have to because WYSIWYG programs have many limitations.

Where do I go to get started?!?!

I have been looking, and I am thinking about taking some college courses on this, but Where do I get started?!?!

Sorry if my questions are stupid, but I need some help to get started.

Thanks in advance for your help!

- Jeff Jensen

**army20** · March 6, 2005

www.easyphp.org

Download The program and install it. It come with apache, php, mysql and phpMyAdmin.

There is good tutorials in it.

**G-Zus** · March 6, 2005

Thanks army20

**prathapml** · March 7, 2005

The tutorials on that site is good... But the package is old and not as full featured as XAMPP

XAMPP:

Apache HTTPD 2.0.53, MySQL 4.1.10, PHP 5.0.3 + 4.3.10 + PEAR + Switch, MiniPerl 5.8.3, Openssl 0.9.7e, PHPMyAdmin 2.6.1, XAMPP Control Panel 1.0, eAccelerator 0.9.2a, Webalizer 2.01-10, Mercury Mail Transport System für Win32 and NetWare Systems v4.01a, FileZilla FTP Server 0.9.4e, SQLite 2.8.15, ADODB 4.60, Zend Optimizer 2.5.7, XAMPP Security.
For Windows 98, 2000, XP.

There's perl and python add-on modules too downloadable there.

Hi Jeff,

You will find the web apps based on the PHP+MySQL combo to be the most popular and powerful... Once you have got xampp, you could get yourself these packages (free software in php for the purposes said below):

Portal - PHP-Nuke

Forum/BBS - phpBB

Blog - WordPress

Webmail - SquirrelMail

Wiki - MediaWiki (this is the same wiki that wikipedia is based on).

If nothing else, those packages will tell you what the PHP language and MySQL database is capable of, and seeing the code you could understand quite a bit. And being open-source, you could even fork your own distribution of any of those!

**dman** · March 7, 2005

Hi G-zus

Excellent cites by prathapml and army20.

To answer you on a little more basic level, the things you are asking about are not really "database languages".

PHP and ASP are "active server pages", meaning that when a user requests a php or asp page the server reads the code on the page and generates HTML output to send back to browser. ASP/PHP and HTML can also coexist on the same page because active components are enclosed in tags kind of like HTML. ASP tags start with <% and end %>,

PHP uses <? - ?>.

This tiny piece of ASP displays the current date:

Today's date is: <%=Date %>

The code between the tags could just as easily opened a database and retrieved a current list of items, formatted it as an HTML table and returned it to the requesting browser like this. PHP is used in the same way.

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>ASP DB EXAMPLE</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<% 
Set Conn = Server.CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")
DSNtest="DRIVER={Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb)}; "
DSNtest=dsntest & "DBQ=" & Server.MapPath("test.mdb")
Conn.Open DSNtest

Dim rs
Set rs = Server.CreateObject("ADODB.Recordset")

rs.Open "SELECT * FROM Student", conn

If rs.eof then
 response.write "no records found"
    response.end
Else
%>
<div align="center">
  <center>
  <table border="1" bordercolor="#111111" width="50%" id="AutoNumber1">
  <%

    Do While not rs.EOF
%> <tr>
    <td width="25%">
    <%ID = rs("ID")
 response.write ID %> </td>
    <td width="25%">
    <%Name = rs("Name")
 response.write Name %> </td>
    <td width="25%">
    <%Major = rs("Major")
 response.write Cognome %> </td>
    <td width="25%">
    <%Data = rs("Data")
   response.write Data %> </td>
    </tr> 
<%  rs.MoveNext
    Loop
%>  </table>
<%   
 rs.close
 set rs=nothing
 End If
 Conn.close
 set Conn = nothing
%>
  </center>
</div>
</BODY>
</HTML>

As far as the programming languages themselves go, ASP can use either vbscript or jscript (probably your choice if you already know javascript). PHP has its own OO language and can use perl and python. For either you should know SQL. This is your Language to actually talk to the database.

XML is something different again. XML is a "data descriptor language" . Basically it is a way to store data in a self describing format as plain text.

XML also uses tags like HTML but uses them to describe data elements instead of formatting. look at some examples and it will be readily apparent. a XML file is usually run thru a "parser" to extract the data into a array, cursor or recordset (you will get to that) that can then be processed by your asp or php code. XML files can also be formatted directly for presentation using CSS.

CSS I'm surprised you don't know about. It is just a formatting specification that describes what attributes will be applied to different types of HTML elements on a page. CSS has nothing to do with databases and can be used with plain static HTML.

Hope this helps a little.

dman

**G-Zus** · March 7, 2005

Thanks alot for all your help guys! I can probably go from there.

I know a little about CSS, for color sets, but I have never even tried to use it for layouts. I always use tables, but I heard somewhere that it is better to use CSS instead of Tables.

Is there any WYSIWYG way to use CSS for layouts?

**harunaksoy** · March 8, 2005

I would recommend you to use Coldfusion cause it is the easiest language and Dreamweaver has a great support for it.

And if you would pay to learn Dynamic development using Dreamweaver i would recommend you to buy a lynda.com cd-rom

http://movielibrary.lynda.com/html/modPage.asp?ID=91

http://movielibrary.lynda.com/html/modPage.asp?ID=86

http://movielibrary.lynda.com/html/modPage.asp?ID=115

Dreamweaver MX 2004 has great support for CSS

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Help With Database Languages!

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