Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with web and mysql

Turn on, tune in, log out?

telegraph — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 12:27:55 -0800

Webdev filter: What tools can I use to avoid developing a registration/log-in feature from scratch? I'm an amateur web developer -- I took a few programming classes in college (Java), know HTML and CSS pretty well, and can get by in PHP and SQL, albeit while checking references constantly. I'm trying to build what I think should be a pretty simple web application: the nuts and bolts of it are that it should allow member registration and login/out, and while the user is logged in, s/he can input numerical data, as well as view some statistical juggling of that data.

The data entry bit I feel fairly confident that I can do using PHP/MySQL. I've written a rudimentary registration and login system (with an email confirmation message, etc), but I can tell that it needs a lot more features and even though I am mostly n00b I can think of ways it could be compromised -- if at all possible I'd prefer to just use code that is already written and known to be fairly stable.

Is there a pre-built, standard kind of thing (I don't even know what the proper word to call it is) I can use for this? I think that Ruby on Rails could be used here, but my attempts at teaching myself how to use it have been kind of futile, and I don't really need all of the version control and other features like that. I'd like to keep this really really simple, at least for now.

As you can see I'm not very experienced and don't really know the proper terms are, so let me know if I need to clarify anything. While I'd like to learn other languages in the future, my goal is to get this thing up and running so I'd prefer advice that presupposes PHP use as opposed to telling me to go learn Python (though I guess I understand if that's the only option). Thanks.

into a black hole

mwhybark — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 11:17:14 -0800

Any Cloudy Nights folks on MeFi? I am googling around in getting going with backyard astronomy and Cloudy Nights appears to be (or to have been) a decent resource, but it has been nothing but failed MySQL connections and php pathing errors since I started digging. Any info? Is it dead, Bones? I did find this older AskMe which includes a bunch of good info, btw.

http://ask.metafilter.com/13386/quality-astronomytelscope-websites

Which forums do the best web programmers hang out at?

jackson5 — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:15:45 -0800

Which forums do the best web programmers hang out at? Long story short: I've got a web site that already does over 1 million pageviews per month. I've got a great idea to take it to the next level, but I'm looking for someone who can handle the coding and technical aspects in exchange for an equity stake.

I'm wanting to bring aboard a great programmer who doesn't necessarily need the work but will be motivated by the equity.

Which forums would you recommend I post on to find this person?

Also, if there's anyone interested here, let me know.

What programming language should I use for a Digg-like web site?

jackson5 — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:37:41 -0800

What programming language should I use for a Digg-like web site? I'm no web developer, but I already have a high traffic picture gallery which I want to turn into a digg-like picture voting site.

I'm going to hire a developer and would like your recommendations on which programming language I should target for the site?

My site currently does about 2 million pageviews per month already, so I expect the traffic to go up. The programming language should easily handle a lot of traffic on 1 dedicated server.

I keep hearing a lot about Ruby on Rails. I'm familiar with PHP/MySQL, but not sure if that is the best programming language for this project.

I also keep hearing a lot about cloud hosting. This sounds like a good option as well.

Basically, to sum up my question: I want to post a "programmer wanted" ad for this project. What should I be looking for from a developer?

Help me be awesome in PHP/MySQL and make some user groups

isnotchicago — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:17:42 -0800

Building a comment system, and looking for good introduction to managing groups and users with PHP/MySQL, or a prerolled "user management system". Ultimately, I need to setup a system for people to register as users, join (or be assigned to) groups, make comments (that are linked to their accounts), and filter comments by criteria (e.g., only show comments by other people in the same group). But, presumably, the "user" stuff would be separate from the "comment" stuff? So...broadly speaking, I need to create users and groups, and then track what every user does.

I found PHP User Class (http://phpuserclass.com/), PHP Users (http://www.majordojo.com/php-users/), and a short Sitepoint article (http://www.sitepoint.com/article/users-php-sessions-mysql/) after some quick Google searching. Anyone have any experience with either of those scripts, or know of any others? Or, know good resources to help me brew my own?

(As for why I am not just using Wordpress or Drupal or etc.,etc.etc.:)
I am working on a site involving a huge repository of text files and the ability to comment on those files. (1) the text files already exist as individual files (versus existing in a database somewhere), and (2) comments need to be on a per-line basis (versus the file as a whole, which is how CMS's usually work). Of course, if, with this vague description, you know of something that might be useful, let me know.

CodeFilter:

kjl291 — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:09:41 -0800

CodeFilter: I am looking for online classes mainly in the area of web programming (PHP, MySQL, AJAX, etc.). I need to brush up on my self taught skills. I am looking for something on the level of an actual coures, with assignments, deadlines, etc. (I don't necessarily like those things, but find I learn much better that way than self-paced from a book). Free or paid service is fine - I am mainly concerned with quality. I sort of like the courses and organization offered by eclasses.org, but I have no idea if they are good and credible? Any recommendations would be very much appreciated

Where can I have a huge MySQL database hosted?

hatmandu — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 14:03:25 -0800

Where can I have a huge MySQL database hosted? My current host only allows databases of up to 100Mb in size, but I have one of just over 1Gb - anyone know a web host that will allow such a thing? (I'm in the UK if that matters.) Cheaply, of course!

Getting from point A to B (the right way)

tmcw — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 12:59:34 -0800

I've got the skills and knowledge, mostly, but I'd like to get a better workflow with PHP/MySQL development. Right now, this is my process:

- Design DB schemas in phpMyAdmin
- Code PHP using jEdit, using the FTP plugin to directly open and save files to a Dreamhost server.
- Use CodeIgniter as a general framework.
- Occasionally do manual backups of all my sites.

This is the workflow I use for moderate web app development as well as client sites. Now, this works, actually quite well right now. But I'm thinking that directly editing files using a FTP client, on live sites, isn't as robust as I'd like. I get server timeouts every once in a while, and there's no versioning set up for my development projects.

I'm interested in how a one-man-shop like myself would use SVN, or perhaps another web host (I'm on the queue for SliceHost, and Pair Light sort of caught my eye... if anyone has suggestions in that area, they are certainly welcome) to improve his/her workflow. I especially don't understand svn at this scale. The SVN copy is inactive on the web... I checkout and checkin files? Also, would most people like me have a development atmosphere on their main desktop (LAMP, etc), or a separate development server, or a shared development server?

Essentially, I'd like to put in a little time and effort to optimize the work that I'm doing right now. Thanks for any help on any of these points.

Bootleg Management with WordPress?

SansPoint — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 20:24:52 -0800

WordPressFilter: Can I do something like this site with WordPress? I'm the webmaster for Booji Boy's Basement, a Devo bootleg trading site. Right now, everything that is done on the site is handled through 100% static HTML pages. I tried coding a database-driven version of the site in PHP and MySQL, but my code-fu is weak. This is one reason why I no longer study Computer Science... anyway...

I realize that WordPress might be able to let me have all the functionality I need without the need for a lot of coding. I have some technical questions about how to go about it.

I know WordPress has support for custom fields, but would it be possible to have those custom fields visible at all times on the new post page? If I, or my co-conspirator Alex want to add a new disc to the collection, I would want the various fields that need to be filled in (Tracklist, Rating, Description, etc.) to be visible.

How would I sort by the disc identifier? (A001, S001, I001, etc.) Should that be a separate custom field?

Also, I have NO clue how to handle the DVD screenshots.

If you have any suggestions, or even better, an off-the-shelf thing I could use to do this, please let me know. It's already become insanely unwieldy to deal with all the HTML... I'm lost!

Other frameworks akin to Ruby on Rails?

killdevil — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 16:14:49 -0800

What are the best database-driven Web application development frameworks out there right now? More specifically, please orient me to toolsets you know of that are similar to Ruby on Rails. I have a couple of database-oriented Web applications I'll be working on in the near future. I'd love to avoid (re)writing lots of the low-level code (recordset handling, security, user input validation, &c, &c, &c ) that every such application needs in order to function, as I've done numerous times in the past. Rather than dust off some of my own home-rolled libraries, I'd rather take the time to choose and learn one of the integrated open-source frameworks that have come into being over the past few years.

I know of Ruby on Rails, obviously, and have heard of a a couple of python-based frameworks that seem philosophically similar to RoR. Please note that I'm totally language-agnostic -- I'm quite handy with all the languages that form the "P" in "LAMP" and with some others as well, but I don't mind picking up some new syntax if it'll simplify my development task in the end.

Help me understand my options!

So I know HTML. What to learn next?

Robot Johnny — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 19:23:55 -0800

What web technology/language should I learn to make simple online apps and just generally enhance my bare-bones knowledge of HTML? I know my HTML and CSS, and am pretty comfortable making simple websites and having them look nice (and coded by hand), but I'm pretty clueless when it comes to anything more complicated than that.

I've been able to wrestle my way through simple modifications of existing code (like a WordPress or MT installation, for example) but I otherwise know little to nothing about PHP or MySQL.

Then there's AJAX this, and Ruby that, and all that other "Web 2.0" jargon that I know nothing about apart from having general idea of what it can do.

I also have absolutely NO programming experience beyond

10 PRINT "HELLO"
20 GOTO 10

So, with my limited knowledge, where should I begin, and what should I learn? I'm not too interested in anything too complex, but I think I'd have fun fooling around to create (relatively) simple things like Wordie or just beefing up my websites with a little more user interactivity.

Any good books, too?

MySQL help!

LoopyG — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 22:07:27 -0800

Please help me create a MySQL database from a collection of images. There is of course I have a folder which contains some subfolders. Each of these subfolders contains 100-200 images. These images are all numbered in the format #########.jpg, and each photo has a unique name. In other words, there is no photo in folder X which has the same filename as a photo in folder Y, for all X and Y.

What I want to do is add these photos information to a MySQL database on my local machine (I have a WAMP setup). I want to enter the following information.

ID# - this is the filename of the image but without the .jpg tag. In other words, image 000001307.jpg should have an ID of 000001307

description - the description needs to be the same as the name of the folder is in. So if a file is in folder "School" it needs to have a description of "School".

filename - simply foldername/filename for the image.

How can I set up some sort of loop to automatically create all the entries needed in a MySQL table? There is only ~10 folders of images, so even if I had to set up a new script for each folder, that wouldnt be too bad.

Please help save me the time of manually enterring 1300 entries into a DB!

PHP:or:Ruby Webmail program I can hack?

hatsix — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 08:57:21 -0800

I'm looking for some sort of Web-Based-Mail system that I can install on my server that I would be able to interface through PHP or Ruby. Specifically, I'd like to build a little web-based application that I can use to catalog my day-to-day business communications. I'd record phone calls and faxes by hand, but have all of my email automagically loaded into the system by interfacing with this webmail program.

I am NOT looking for "just do it in outlook" responses, First, I don't trust MS Products' stability with my business data, Second, I'm planning on building on tools such as billing, budget, etc...

TIA!

How to get PHP to stop 'mis-rendering' some entities like ™ and single smart quotes.

Wild_Eep — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 18:22:37 -0800

WebDevFilter: ™, ', and ' walk into my database, but only ô, ë, and í come back out. I'm pulling a passage of text for a web site out of a mySQL database using PHP. Pretty generic stuff.

This particular passage has the ™ character sprinkled throughout it. In the phpMyAdmin tool, I can see the ™ with no problems. In the form I built to edit this text, the ™ shows up just fine as well. However, when the passage is pulled from the database and echoed, every ™ turns into a ô. Also, 'smart' single quotes are getting converted to ë and í, respectively. There may be other conversions going on, but I haven't noticed them yet.

FWIW, the only thing the form does is run the string through htmlspecialchars() and addslashes() before inserting back to the db.

What am I doing wrong?

I need a portal / groupware or CMS solution

letterneversent — Thu, 25 Aug 2005 13:58:38 -0800

SoftwareFilter: Need a portal / groupware or CMS solution with the following features: 1. Authenticated user-only accessible content
2. User / group management
3. User / group permissions (edit, publish, draft, delete, for example.)
4. Knowledge base-type functionality
5. User uploads
6. CMS editing and publishing
7. DB backend

Any sugestions?

How can I preserve the unsubmitted contents of a web form whilst calling a refresh on its structure?

handee — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 05:47:47 -0800

Half way through a form, a user decides that they'd like to add a category to a selection list. How can I facilitate this without also losing everything they've typed into the form so far? Say I have a selection list, featuring "red", "green", "blue". I have a link which takes the user to an add-a-colour page, where they add "yellow". Now, going Back preserves all the information they'd typed in before they got as far as the selection box, but doesn't update the selection box itself. Refreshing the original page updates the selection box but loses everything they've typed in so far.

I could POST the stuff filled in so far to the add-a-colour page if I used a submit button as a link - but that would mean a form with 2 submit buttons.

Selection box and page are PHP/MySQL constructions. I suspect I could do something with JavaScript events, but I'm not quite sure how. Any pointers or suggestions welcome...

How to convert a dynamic web pages into static ones?

Hartster — Thu, 24 Feb 2005 03:44:49 -0800

I need to convert several dynamic websites (database driven and templated) into static ones so that they can put on a CD. Is there a quick and easy way of doing this? Please help me from the insanity that would result from me going through many 100s of pages and saving the source individually.

(The websites are PHP/MySQL)

(Oh and: pesky clients)

Database-driven web sites using using Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP, etc?

Mwongozi — Fri, 10 Dec 2004 17:25:57 -0800

I know how to make database-driven web sites using Windows servers, Access, IIS, and ASP.

I want to learn how to do the same using Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP, and... whatever you use instead of Access.

Where do I start?

What's your favorite WAMP installer and why?

signal — Mon, 19 Jul 2004 12:41:24 -0800

What's your favorite WAMP installer? (and, of course ,why?)

Is it difficult to change to LAMP/Java from ASP/.NET? Is the open source thing really sticking?

grefo — Fri, 09 Jan 2004 07:40:13 -0800

I have been looking at changing my web development focus from Windows/ASP/.NET to LAMP(Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Python/Perl) because my gut is telling me that this is where things are going. Oh, Java should be in there as well.

What's the skinny on LAMP in the real world (Netcraft surveys aside)? Is it difficult to change to LAMP/Java? Is the open source thing really sticking?