On Fri, Sep 28, 2001 at 10:38:00AM +0100, Mike Rees wrote:
Hi
Thanks for all the replies..obviously I'm not an isolated case.
I think I'll have a shot at the mysql and php (about time I done some scripting again, instead of having to make sure they've tried plugging the thing in before calling me!).
Thankfully time (for implementation) is not a pressing issue (YET) Any suggestions for getting to grips with learning the above are most welcome. I've already ordered a book.
For PHP have a look at www.php.net and www.devshed.com, there are plenty of example scripts that you can hack to your needs. Both MySQL and PHP come with excellent documentation but you might consider getting `MySQL & mSQL' pub. O'Reilly which gives you a decent grounding in SQL and interacting with scripting languages via their DBC drivers (doesn't cover PHP though). You might be better off with Postgres if your site is going to be performing lots of updates from different sources (which sounds like it might be the case) as Postgres supports important constraint features such as transactions and more fully imposes key constraints. MySQL is better for data that doesn't change that much IMO. I've got a book that I want to get rid of `The Practical SQL Handbook' pub. Addison Wesley which is a good starter for getting to grips with ANSI SQL'92 - let me know if you want it, I'd take £10 + p&p. I'd be happy to give you a hand with the database design which is important but often neglected. Things like normalisation of your tables & doing a proper entity-relationship diagram is important so that you don't end up having to redo your tables bacause of integrity problems. Also allows you to extend the database easily in future if the need arises. DB design is a bit of a black art which requires some experience and a good deal of formal study if it's to be done properly & time not wasted. -- Frank *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Boroughbridge. Tel: 01423 323019 --------- PGP keyID: 0xC0B341A3 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* http://www.esperance-linux.co.uk/