Page 1 of 1

Please Help Me

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2003 10:23 am
by woodangela
OK...I am just now begining to teach myself a little about PHP. I am currently developing a site that needs a news module. It needs to have a backend for admin to administer articles...no one else should be able to submitt. AND I would like it to fit seemlessly into the design of the page that I've already created. MY PROBLEM...I've looked at some of the free php modules out there, and they seem wonderful, but I'm not sure how I'd be able to customize it enough to make it look like what I already have. Are there any suggestions on a good..EASY for beginners...news modules that exist out there that I should be able to input into a table area in the design I already have?

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2003 10:46 am
by twigletmac
All I can suggest is that you look at hotscripts.com, if you can't find anything that you can easily modify then you're going to have to learn how so try some tutorials:
http://www.phpcomplete.com
http://www.devshed.com/Server_Side/PHP
http://www.phpbuilder.com

Mac

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2003 11:10 am
by woodangela
Thank you so much for replying to me..I have been doing some tutorials, but the ones you recommended have been very helpful. I also have already throughly checked out the 200 something news scripts available in php...the tutorials will have to be what I need to learn more about php, so I can make sense out of all the AND know what I need to do to change it sucessfully.

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2003 11:14 am
by twigletmac
If you're having trouble with a script you can always come back here and ask for help, we can give lots more advice when there's a specific question.

Mac

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2003 11:16 am
by Sky
You just have to nag them alot, sometimes... ;) *innocently hints to both my topics*

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2003 11:24 am
by woodangela
well here's a specific porblem...I have never used a linux os in my life. I once installed it in OS class at my university, and I'm not at all familiar with it. I just recently graduated and accepted a job with a radio station here in town. They never told me, and I never asked...(big mistake)...what OS they used on their server. After developing an asp program to fit my needs I discover that I can't use it...(I know seems pretty hillarious!!) SOooooo....I now have 2 1/2 weeks to figure out php and get something going with a news module. My home system is windows xp home..and I want to try ouyt some of these tutorials..but they don't work..and I just found out why in the tutorial that MAC sent me. I need to have a php engine installed and a PHP editor. So I now have a php editor (can I use notepad or do I have to have a special one?), and I downloaded the PHP engine from the http://www.php.net site...Will the tutorials work now?? Or do I need to do something else...do I need to partition my hard drive and install Linus on my computer also?

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2003 11:33 am
by Sky
Ok, no you do not have to install linux if it is on their server. To deug locally, go to http://www.zend.com and get their free version of the environment. For a tutorial... i found a good one (the one I learned on)... Since you know programming, it should only be the syntax that you need help with, this should help.... http://www.phpcomplete.com/tutorials.ph ... adTutorial

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2003 11:49 am
by woodangela
ok..nother prob....I just tried to use the editor that I got from winsyntax..only I am unable to find directions on how to use it!! I have the code I wanna try typed into it, but I can't find where I can view the parsed document...???If I try to open the file in IE..I get a blank page...What am I doing wrong??

I just got the reply from Sky...What is the ZEND thing for? Is it a different editor? As far as the server goes. I work from home. I really would like to get the new site I'm creating up and running before I put it on their server, so I would like to test php stuff out from home, to see if it is working right. Does this make any sense? LOL!!!!

PS--THANKS SO MUCH FOR HELPING ME...cause I know I sound pretty stupid..LOL!!

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2003 12:07 pm
by volka
for simple installations some suggestions have been made here in the forum.
You may install each pacakage you need (webserver, php, database, what-so-ever) or take a bundle that (more or less) works out-of-the-box.
phptriad and wampp only are examples.
As for the editor there is a large (and still growing) thread in General Discussion on that matter (Sticky: [ Poll ] What's your favourite PHP Editor?)

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2003 12:57 pm
by Sky
The Zend Development Environment is a FULLY featured, project supporting, code-suggesting (File function list, project function list, PHP function list), parsing (one click, and you see the html output.) without installing anything else, just download, run, and code/debug(comprehensive debugger, not just what you would get, say, on a web server..)

Anyway, it has suited my needs VERY well. After trying a few other programs (I use Dev-PHP too, but I use it for my PHP-GTK projects...) I have always come back to it. There's nothing really complicated. Just open it, open/make the file, and start editing.

To debug/run, press the blue arrow in the toolbar. (TIP: If you have something like a database script where you use localhost, it will check for syntax errors first, then on ANOTHER pass check for execution errors. That way you can still see if your script's syntax is ok!) And it's very well done, being that zend has a sizeable hand in PHP itself.

(NOTE: This is filled with opinions. Mine, but fairly well factually based :))

(Hint Hint other coders! I need help :arrow: here and :arrow: here!)

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2003 3:05 pm
by woodangela
Thanks...the Zend enviroment sounds like what I need...so tell me...is it free?? Cause the funds are very short around my house right now, and I need a free one. If it is free..what is it called exactly? Cause when I went to the zend site..it had so much stuff on there I didn't know where to look for the download, and it didn't have a search.

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2003 4:00 pm
by Sky