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Re: LAMP starting point

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On Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:00:00 -0700, Rudra Banerjee wrote:

> I am an  enthusiast with zero background knowledge in database and php.
> I have got some space in a server to setup a database (its not a paid
> project).

> I will use LAMP to setup the database (i.e. database of book's
> catalogue. like a library) that can be freely used and updated by
> anonymous users.

> Given this goal, kindly suggest me some starting point. google is full
> of resources, but most often then not, confusing and self contradicting
> for a beginner.

Define your data structures. Define your user interfaces. PHP is the glue 
that sits between the two. Designing data structures is an art form unto 
itself, you could look on the Stanford class to go website and see when 
their next database course is running.

Free online php tutorials tend to be crap unfortunately, the best 
reference for php is the on-line manual.

Do you have any experience in php, sql or html?

Without at least a working knowledge of all 3, you're going to have 
problems, especially as most of the php you'll be writing will be 
shifting data between html forms and an sql database, or between the sql 
database and html documents.

Having said that, if you're competent in another programming language, 
and understand basic programming constructs like loops, decision making 
etc, php isn't that hard to pick up the basics of. Making a secure php / 
mysql (or mariadb) application is however a different kettle of fish.

Questions:

Will you be using mysql or mariadb? Why? 
Will you be using html 4.01, xhtml 1.1, or 'html 5'? Why?

If you can't answer the why, you don't know enough to make the decision 
yet!

Will you be using Javascript and / or CSS? If yes, do you have any prior 
experience of these? Because if you don't, forget about using them until 
you have the basic website working.

Oh, and this newsgroup is only relevant for the php parts of the 
discussion. If your php is functioning correctly, but you have told it to 
produce the wrong html or the wrong sql, there's a limit to our ability 
to spot that here.

One final thing, as a lot of this sort of application involves using php 
to generate sql or html strings, you really really really really really 
need to have a very good understanding of string handling across all 3 
languages, especially the use of various quote characters, and how to 
generate a quoted string in one language from within another language.

Jerry, what did I miss?

-- 
Denis McMahon, denismfmcmahon@gmail.com

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LAMP starting point Rudra Banerjee <bnrj.rudra@gmail.com> - 2013-10-18 07:00 -0700
  Re: LAMP starting point The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2013-10-18 15:22 +0100
    Re: LAMP starting point Tobiah <toby@tobiah.org> - 2013-10-18 11:37 -0700
      Re: LAMP starting point The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2013-10-18 20:03 +0100
        Re: LAMP starting point "Peter H. Coffin" <hellsop@ninehells.com> - 2013-10-19 10:24 -0500
          Re: LAMP starting point The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2013-10-19 18:45 +0100
            Re: LAMP starting point Richard Yates <richard@yatesguitar.com> - 2013-10-19 14:44 -0700
              Re: LAMP starting point The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2013-10-19 23:36 +0100
          Re: LAMP starting point Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2013-10-20 02:19 +0200
  Re: LAMP starting point Denis McMahon <denismfmcmahon@gmail.com> - 2013-10-18 16:20 +0000
    Re: LAMP starting point "Peter H. Coffin" <hellsop@ninehells.com> - 2013-10-18 12:03 -0500
    Re: LAMP starting point Jerry Stuckle <jstucklex@attglobal.net> - 2013-10-18 14:00 -0400
    Re: LAMP starting point Twayne <nobody@spamcop.net> - 2013-10-18 16:13 -0400
  Re: LAMP starting point "J.O. Aho" <user@example.net> - 2013-10-18 20:17 +0200
  Re: LAMP starting point bill <william@TechServSys.com> - 2013-10-19 07:29 -0400

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