newbie questions B4 getting started

mastar2

First, thanks in advance

I do not want to host & install Appache, PHP and mySQL on a server.. My host say they supports PHP and has set me up with a mySQL account.. They are running windows.. I get the impression the power is in the linux, unix direction but I don't want to change or go there but to stay with this host for now

.. figure that way I don't need to maintain a server with the above...

I have installed a CMS (control management system) called "mySQL Front" and logged onto mySQL server, and can manually created tables, fields etc.. pretty simple, think thats all its does?

I have tried to understand mySqlCC and got lost.. couldn't even find or display the sample table I know is on my host

I have read about Postnuke, PhpNuke and more of the same.. and get confused

I heard of myPhpAdmin.. might have even downloaded it..
Is this the app i need to develop php to Dbase files?

And still don't know what the above apps really are.. most articles i am reading assume, I am hosting or installing my own php and mySQL... that's when I duck out...

I am experience dbase procedual coder w/ Dreamweaver, Html, Javascripts and have dwelved into some php code already and can almost read the stuff.. that where I am at..

My web site pages already run php text counters, and a email module mail() command from my site I installed .. so i figure PHP works

Oh, I downloaded serveral cutnpaste calendars scripts that are specific php & mySQL apps from the net but can't get them to work.. Seems like a loggin on or path like problem not finding Function() or other errorss .. So I figure I need something first simple enough just to get my hands wet and test or prove to myself the HOST MySQL really works

I like to have a gui or otherwise module that helps me write PHP code as a beginner to communicate using PHP with MYsql tables and the those long command lines of complicated coding logging on to the server MYsql, with add, edit, delete or retrieve data like type commands..

Then I could write or drag snippet code, test and paste them to my pages

Its like.. i don't write HTML tables no longer because I use Dreamweaver, however I can still view, edit the code if I want to...

There are still several tutorial here I am going back to, and they make since.. still reading em

Thanks for any guidance and your help you can offer

Rod Minarik 😕
hopefully old man can learn new tricks

matt_4013

Hi Rod.

MySQL is a command line utility. It comes standard with a command line interface, but accepts connections from different sources. This is where PHPMyAdmin comes in. All it is, is a web based GUI for MySQL. It's not a PHP editor, but uses PHP to interact with MySQL.

If you do a search on google for php+mysql+tutorial you'll come across one on WebMonkey. That one's very newbie friendly. It does have an install section, but just skip past that and it's all good. It basically teaches you some basic php syntax, and how to use it to communicate, retrieve and insert into the database via a web interface.

As for a gui to help you write php, I think the closest you're going to get is Dreamweaver. What you've got to remember is that PHP really doesn't have much to do with formatting. PHP provides dynamic functionality for a HTML page (or any other interpreted language for that matter), and as such there's not really much a gui can do for you. There's a lot of programs out there that provide syntax highlighting (I use UltraEdit) but AFAIK that's about as good as you're gonna get.

Hope that helps,
Matt

mastar2

Hello, thanks for the reply again..
Looking at Webmonkey... reading through.. I bypass the setup PHP/MySQL and i am already stuck on the below paragraphs

Question: about the MySQL bin directory??? Is this suppose to be on my host server or on my own local machine? Looking at my host via the control panel at all my directories I do not see such a directory.. and the host said they setup MySQL account..

As said B4, I can create a table using my "mySQL Front"

Also i executed the phpinfo() command and got back a bunch of info//// I do see some mySQL info in this data displayed.. Does that mean I have MySql setup too??

Thanks rod

Exerts from webmonkey article continues below here

http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/99/21/index2a_page5.html?tw=programming

Anyway, let's get on with the database. For Win32 users, I'm sorry, but this requires some DOS work. You'll have to use a DOS window or type everything in the Run window. Don't forget to type in the path to the location of the MySQL/bin directory with your commands.

The first thing we need to do is create the actual database. From the command line, type:

mysqladmin -u root create mydb
That creates a database called "mydb." The flag tells MySQL that we're doing this as the root user.

Next we'll add some data using everyone's favorite example, the employees database. We're going to need that dump file I mentioned earlier. If you're interested in how it goes together, review the manual that comes with MySQL or check out http://www.turbolift.com/mysql/.

Copy and paste the following text to a file and save it in MySQL's bin directory. (I'll call the file mydb.dump.)