Run a Web Page From a Database
Hello all,
Can someone answer a question I've had for quite a while now, which I'm sure has a fairly easy answer...
What do I need to be able to have a web page which is generated from a database? I know of 2 ways, neither of which I can use. One is using FP 2000, but you need an ODBC connection and that means money. The other is ASP, but the host I'm with charges for that. I don't want to change, as they're a good host. Also, there's the time for me to learn ASP.
So, are there other ways to do this for almost no cost? Can I do it from a simple flatfile text database? This question has been bugging me for a very long time. If anyone can help, I would really appreciate it.
Thanks in advance.
Busy posted this at 03:17 — 4th October 2001.
He has: 6,151 posts
Joined: May 2001
PHP and MySQL seem to be the way to go these days, there are some free hosts that offer both and others that just offer PHP, depending on your needs you can just use PHP and include the stuff you would of used in the database in a text file as I'm finding out.
The other guys and gals may have more info, I'm still in the "L" plate class of databases
but getting there
Peter J. Boettcher posted this at 13:41 — 4th October 2001.
They have: 812 posts
Joined: Feb 2000
PHP & MySQL are the way to go if you're currently hosted on a non-windows server otherwise they are definately not the way to go.
There's a few ways you can go if you're trying to do this for free:
1) If you have Access you can throw an .mdb file on your site.
2) If you're comfortable with XML and the database is simple and small you could store it in an XML file.
3) A simple text file (not recommended, most hosts probably won't give you the right permissions to write to a file anyways)
Having said that you're still going to need some sort of server-side technology to interact with the database (ASP/PHP/CF/Perl/etc).
PJ | Are we there yet?
pjboettcher.com
rline posted this at 03:03 — 5th October 2001.
They have: 40 posts
Joined: Oct 2001
Thanks for your replies.
I'm running on a unix server, with cgi capabilities. So does this mean I can or can't run an access mdb database? If I can, is it as simple as uploading it? If all that is true, you're saying I still need something like perl or php to interact with the data?
Sorry if I seem ignorant, but I am...
Mark Hensler posted this at 05:28 — 5th October 2001.
He has: 4,048 posts
Joined: Aug 2000
You can use PHP on a UNIX box and connect to an Access database. You need to install some ODBC drivers. I have not read any further, but you can here.
Mark Hensler
If there is no answer on Google, then there is no question.
mjames posted this at 22:58 — 5th October 2001.
They have: 2,064 posts
Joined: Dec 1999
Check out SitePoint.com. They are offering a book suited to both beginners and advanced people looking for information on how to build a database-driven site. That stuff is incredible.
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