| Re: LAMP starting point [message #183276 is a reply to message #183269] |
Fri, 18 October 2013 20:13   |
bill
Messages: 310
Registered: October 2010
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Senior Member |
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On 2013-10-18 12:20 PM, Denis McMahon wrote:
> 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.
The two best resources are php.net, where you'll find the "Manual" that
was mentioned, and also
W3Schools.com which is even better for those new to the languages.
They have tutorials galore and examples and even a "try it" option to
test out code you've written or a code snippet they suggested in the
examples. There are several decent sites around but I'll leave it at
those two.
....
> Free online php tutorials tend to be crap unfortunately, the best
> reference for php is the on-line manual.
See above for where that manual actually is.
>
> 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.
That's a truism and a half. Either of the above "safe" links are chock
full of information for all of those languages and more. Do yourself a
favor and at least check them out.
>
> 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.
MySQL or its descendant with the "i" addition, which is offered now on
many servers, has a learning curve but it's not insurmountable. Or
perhaps you have your own ideas for a database: Just be absolutely
certain you secure them as well as possible so they don't draw
miscreants and worse.
>
....
>
> 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.
Javascript (Not Java), is nowhere near even secure so be sure you
provide the usual protection for them. I assume you are familiar with
things like Cross Site Scripting and Code Injection? Be sure to learn
about them if you don't already have a familiarity with them. Learning
about those will lead you to a lot of other possible exposures for
websites.
>
> 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.
I'm not sure what the above para means (not a lot to do with CSS 2 or
3), but the gist of it's definitely worth noting. Strings are all
important and they will mostly be manipulated in PHP, out of sight of
the normal browser and much more securely. HTML is mostly good for input
and messages, but PHP does the most work to protect you and your site
from the "bad boys" of the internet.
Twayne`
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