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Many
people are interested in building
databases with PHP and mySQL instead of
using Access or SQL.
This page
should help you use the rest of the
tutorial, even if you are using Linux or
Unix. to code your database
project. Each one's different and
you should be aware of how they all fit
together.
MySQL
Upside:
mySQL is free with most Unix/Linux
Hosting Plans, unlimited databases,
etc...Why is it free? There is no license
fee to install PHP or mySQL on your
Linux server so it makes sense for web
hosts to offer these services as part of
your package.
Downside:
mySQL can be more difficult to work with
and there are fewer tools for viewing
the data or coding on your local
machine. When you use mySQL you
should be familiar and comfortable with
with viewing data within tables and
coding in notepad.
Using
mySQL once
you make your changes to your data you
upload via ftp the entire database,
overwriting all records.
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Access:
Access is
normally included on Windows2000+ hosting
plans. If you are using an Access
database you can be sure your site is
running on a Microsoft Windows server;
therefore the host has paid more to license
the server software and can offer you
superior tools to work with your
data.
When you
use Access within FrontPage you simply
click on the database, Access opens, you
edit your data within the table and ONLY
THE CHANGES ARE UPLOADED. Of course on
the "better" server setup you
will have a smoother interface and a
more efficient and elegant
solution. Why overwrite the other
2000 records that are already there just
to make sure one has changed?
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Editing
your pages
In mySQL
to code your "results" pages
you should be familiar with coding in
notepad. You will
have to edit the "connection
string" manually; (login details
you will receive your web host).
At that point most things in the
tutorial are similar; just
replace
?.asp with ?.PHP
http://www.meetnewplayers.com/results.php?ColumnName=123456
Within
Access land everything is easier, as
described above you
simply click on the database, Access
opens, you edit your data within the
table and ONLY THE CHANGES ARE
UPLOADED. Easy, breezy.
With
FrontPage you get quick results and a
great interface. I have spent many
hours coding databases and appreciate
anything that makes it go a bit
faster. Why not let the tools do
the heavy lifting in the background
instead of staring at a notepad window
all weekend trying to get all of your
tables to line up?
| Sure, you can code in PHP and
for some most adult sites this
would be the way to go since you
may or may not have your server
in a reputable location and fully licensed... |
So to
recap; if you look at the difference in
the queries:
mySQL
using PHP
http://www.meetnewplayers.com/results.php?ColumnName=123456
http://www.meetnewplayers.com/results.asp?ColumnName=123456
the Idea
is the same, just in mySQL-land you are
querying a mySQL database via PHP
instead of an access database in .asp.
on a single page that displays different
information depending on the query via
the URL.
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