What I want to do: Is it possible?

[nexgen_x]

I've just started learning php, in hope that I will be able to make my websites more interactive, while at the same time making changes require less work in the long run 😉.

So, while I'm a total newbie right now, I do have a goal.

I want to make a page - www.lore-league.com/profiles.htm - manage itself. This page lists the character profiles for all the people in an organisation. However, these profiles are constantly changing, and more are being added. As you can imagine, its a real bitch to have to micro-manage each one - and will be even more tiresome once I add the next batch (which I've decided to delay doing until I've got it working efficiently).

What I want is to give the owner of each profile a username and password. They can then log into the site, and be presented with their profile, which they can then modify how they like. Any changes they make will then automatically be made to the web page.

This will, I'm sure, require some pretty advanced coding - but I'm willing to learn.

First of all, I need to know whether the above is possible to do with PHP (is mySQL needed as well?). If it is possible, I'd appreciate any reccomendations to websites, or books, that I will be able to use to gain the knowledge I'll need to do this.

Thanks in advance,

[TTT]

1. everything is possible 🙂
2. you need mysql
3. you can get started with www.php.net/manual/en

[bastien]

you could create a text file for each person using fopen() but mysql will make it easier to do and lots more fun...(what can i say i like databases...now if only i could get a real job)😃 )

good luck

[sarahk]

Getting Started

1) read up on the tutorials on forms, databases, sessions
2) go to the code library at phpbuilder or phpclasses.org and get a class to manage the database & sessions - makes life much simpler
3) seriously consider using a template. These allow you to design your form using a standard gui tool and then "shove" the data into it. Much easier than the handcoding of html you will see in pure php.

Allow yourself the luxury of mucking around and learning time. It will pay dividends. Don't get stuck into the real project straight away.

good luck