Messages

1

Coding tutorials / Re: Starting PHP coding for the internet.

« on: July 01, 2009 »

Still don't completely understand how that's supposed to work (i.e. how storing stuff in the htdocs directory will make it unecessary to upload stuff to my site), but I'll figure it out...

What it means is that you have php and mysql running on your computer (just start mysql and apache with the batch files as we previously discussed). You can write your php pages, or indeed html pages and drop them into that htdocs directory which means that you can totally develop the code for your website on your home computer without ever needing to upload the files onto your live server. You can simply view your site in development by just typing "localhost".

You will only need to upload the site to your live host when it's  finished, the whole point of this excercise is to make development of your site much faster and much easier.

Ahh, ok...that makes more sense. Thank you.

2

Coding tutorials / Re: Starting PHP coding for the internet.

« on: July 01, 2009 »

now the question is what to do with it now that its installed.  I could not find an htdocs directory.

Why not check your own screenshot you posted a few posts above? You'll clearly see the directory htdocs.

When you find it just go into it and delete everything you see, when you're working on your website you just store it in that htdocs directory and you'll be able to develop live on your computer without ever having to upload anything to the web

This will save you so much time, you'll come to love it.

Duh!  I was thinking you meant the directory was somewhere on the pages seen after typing "localhost" in my browser...and that explains why I couldn't find it there.
Thanks, much appreciation.
Still don't completely understand how that's supposed to work (i.e. how storing stuff in the htdocs directory will make it unecessary to upload stuff to my site), but I'll figure it out...

3

Coding tutorials / Re: Starting PHP coding for the internet.

« on: July 01, 2009 »

It is working

You should have started the mysql as well as I explained above and then tried your browser asn typed "localhost" in the browser.

Here are the steps.

setup xampp (you wont need to do this now as you'v done it already)
apache_start
mysql_start
You will end up with two dos windows (like the one you posted).
Minimize them if they are bugging you.
Open your browser and type "localhost" in the address bar, really it's as simple as clicking two batch files and opeinign a browser window.
I can''t make the explanation any simpler I am afraid.

I dont think you made any mistakes so dont worry.

Thanks for that. Its installed and working now (I saw the welcome page)...now the question is what to do with it now that its installed.   I could not find an htdocs directory.

4

Coding tutorials / Re: Starting PHP coding for the internet.

« on: June 30, 2009 »

Ok, it seems like you have the correct software.

If you look back at the original post you'll see I have written;

Click on:
"setup xampp"
then click on:
apache_start.bat
then click on:
mysql_start.bat

Ok, I got all the way to "click on: apache_start.bat" in your instructions. It started up of course, but it seems to be hanging at the words "Apache 2 is starting...". See attached image.
Its been that way for the past 10 minutes, and I'm not sure if I should close it...I probably will if I get too impatient.

5

Coding tutorials / Re: Starting PHP coding for the internet.

« on: June 30, 2009 »

Ok, it seems like you have the correct software.

If you look back at the original post you'll see I have written;

Click on:
"setup xampp"
then click on:
apache_start.bat
then click on:
mysql_start.bat

These are the batch files I can see them in the screenshot you have posted.

Once you have followed those steps you should end up with two dos windows open. When you reach that stage, open your browser and type the word:

localhost

into the address bar, you should see the welcome screen.

You can then go into the htdocs directory, delete everything there and just put your php stuff into that folder, you can access it with "localhost".

Yes, but the problem is I don't see any file called "setup xampp"...
Or do you mean the batch file called "setup_xampp.bat"? For some reason, I thought you meant a .exe

6

Coding tutorials / Re: Starting PHP coding for the internet.

« on: June 30, 2009 »

It's definately better to use xampp, purely because of the time it will save you.

What batch files are in that directory?

I am wondering if the archive has been changed by apachefriends, if so I will upload a version somewhere for you to grab.

It's definately worth getting xampp set up, if you've got the following batch files;

apache_start.bat
apache_stop.bat
mysql_start.bat
mysql_stop.bat
setup_xampp.bat
makecert.bat

Then we can use the one you downloaded, if not I'll put my version online.

I'll check back tonight when I get home from work.

Xampp is clean btw and wont install crap on your computer, the only thing that it can sometimes interfere with is if you have IM programs running that use the same ports (skype sometimes does this) but when you want to use skype you can just shut xampp down.

I have all the ones you mentioned, except for "makecert.bat". (See attached image) So xampp interferes with skype? I use it, but not a lot, so I guess that's ok...

7

C / C++ /C# / Re: [C++] Good model for using derived classes?

« on: June 30, 2009 »

Yes, this is correct. When you want the data to be inherited (in a *modifiable* form) by the derived class, use the "protected" keyword instead of "private" in your base class.

8

Coding tutorials / Re: Starting PHP coding for the internet.

« on: June 30, 2009 »

Ok, the download was finally successful, but unfortunately there is no file called "setup xampp" per se. Instead, there are files called "xampp_chkdll.exe", "xampp_cli.exe", "xampp_restart.exe", "xampp_service_mercury.exe", "xampp_start.exe", "xampp_stop.exe", "xampp-control.exe", and "xampp-portcheck.exe". So which one do I use to install it? And is this going to install a crapload of stuff on my computer which will take up a ton of space...? This is not a server...I have no server computer. The server is owned by webs.com, which I have a member site of.
Maybe I better go with the other option, and just upload the .php file(s) to my web space...

9

Coding tutorials / Re: Starting PHP coding for the internet.

« on: June 30, 2009 »

So, two options are open, you can etiher install php on your computer or you can upload your pages to your webspace.
I reccomend you use xampplite and install php on your computer,

http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp-windows.html

Grab xampplite from there, extract the zip, click on "setup xampp"
then apache_start.bat
then mysql_start.bat

Then open your browser and type "localhost"

If you see the xampp welcome page then you have the thing working fine
Go into the htdocs directory and delete everything that you find in there.
When you drop your pages in that folder you can access them with "localhost"

Damn!  I just downloaded the xampplite .zip, which took me about 10 minutes, and then had to download it again because it wouldn't open. Hopefully it will work this time (the download's not finished yet).
Thanks for the great guide BTW, I really appreciate it.
Its a good introduction to PHP.
Obviously though, I'm going to have to spend much more time with it first before I can write the php program I mentioned in another thread...
Is it ok if I have specific questions about PHP coding, to ask them in this thread?

10

General coding questions / Re: HTML question

« on: June 30, 2009 »

This should help to get you started..

http://www.dbfinteractive.com/forum/index.php/topic,4145.0.html

Great! I'll be sure to check it out.

11

General coding questions / Re: HTML question

« on: June 30, 2009 »

Sorry, guys. I would have responded sooner but I didn't get an email when the two new posts in this thread were posted (like I had with the rest).

to the forum  Japaneseninja  << Good Wicked Name 

Thanks, HotShot. 

12

General chat / Re: The Welcoming Comittee

« on: June 30, 2009 »

Hey guys. Dude here from Northern New Mexico, USA (though I'm originally from Louisiana).  
Found this site from a link posted by Clyde on the NeoSmart forums (of which I am an active member), and thought its pretty cool. I'm studying programming now, in the form of C++. I'm hoping to get a major application coded by the end of this year, which will incorporate sound, video (actually slide-show type stuff), among other things.
Just saying hi. I might stick around here if I can find help for doing a few things on my site...
What I'm looking for is a good guide or how-to create a php program that will grab the latest news and sports articles from the primary sources (i.e. CNN/Fox News/ESPN) for both of those things, and paste them on my site pages (with the links to the original articles of course).

13

General coding questions / Re: HTML question

« on: June 24, 2009 »

The beauty of php is that is runs on the web server so the people who visit your sites do not have to actually install any special plug-ins to their browsers to be able to use it.

If there is call for it I am happy to write a couple of tutorials to teach people how to write some simple scripts?

Yes, that sounds like a good idea.
Please do.  

  <<I love that one  

14

General coding questions / Re: HTML question

« on: June 24, 2009 »

Hi Japaneseninja

Thanks for adding this site to your links, feel free to use our XML feeds, every one of the boards has an orange RSS icon just click on those orange buttons to see the feed for that forum.

You will need to use something like php to do this.. if you don't know what php is, please post back and we can point you in the direction of some useful stuff and give you some guidelines on how to use it.

This whole website is written with php, xhtml, mysql and css. They are a really powerful combination.

Of course I have heard of PHP, but I don't know a whole lot about it. I have been studying a little HTML and CSS code lately though.

Thanks to you both for the replies.

15

General coding questions / Re: HTML question

« on: June 24, 2009 »

First of all, let's wait what the owner of this board thinks about the
idea. But generally, this site offers RSS support, you might want to use
the RSS feed of it.

Your (PHP)-programm should do the following

(1) Download the RSS http://www.dbfinteractive.com/forum/index.php?type=rss;action=.xml
It would be good here to check the timestamp of the downloaded
file - if a specific time has passed to reduce bandwidth. So let's say
only download the feed every 60 mins or so.

(2) Parse it to extract relevant information (there are
numerous scripts available on the net to parse RSS feeds)

(3) Then simply output the data you want in the way you
want on your page

That sounds like a good idea, but I noticed you said "PHP program"...
Do you mean I should create this program in PHP, and then add it to my site using HTML?

16

General coding questions / HTML question

« on: June 24, 2009 »

Hello all, and I have a programming question.
How do I create a widget for a webpage on my site that will grab the latest news articles from top news sources, and paste them on my site (along with the links to the original articles of course), and update say once a day?
I realize that probably takes a lot of complex code, and I don't expect anyone to write it all for me, but a point in the right direction would be nice, and I'm wondering if it is even possible to do with HTML...
Is it?

Thanks in advance.

P.S. I added your site to my links page on my site. I'll try to get people to come over here from my site.