Ok, ladies and gentlemen, I'm new to PHP and linking databases via web. I do have a programming background, C++, Delphi, VB. I have also worked with SQL in Oracle and Access. I can't say I'm great at either so pardon my ignorance 🆒
We are working on a project to create a web-based database. This database will list names of teachers along with their email addresses, and school name. We would like to be able to display 5-10 records at once. At this point, a search function is not necessary but it would be helpful down the road.
The database should work like this: User will bring up the main webpage. From here the user has an option to login or register. The user should not be able to view records until he/she is registered. The registration consists of a brief form with basic information. When the user submits this data, a record is created and a flag is put on the record. An activation email is sent to the users email address. When the link is clicked, the flag is removed. If the account is never activated, the record will be deleted after a predetermined amount of time. So basically, when the user signs up, they will be automatically added to the database.
A basic flowchart of what we are doing is here http://www.pitt.edu/~jdbst56/databaselayout.pdf
Like I said. I've done database stuff. I've also done static web stuff. This is the first time I am attempting to link them. How difficult will this be? I figured that if I'm going to learn any scripting, I should go for PHP rather than ASP. Is PHP a sensible option in my case?
On the server end we are running IIS 5.0 on Windows 2000 Server. For the database backend, we are running Microsoft SQL Server (I'm still waiting to hear back from IS as to what version, 7.0 or 2000, does this make a difference for what we are doing?) Changing anything on the server is not an option as the IS dept is very strict on their guidelines. They did give us permission to load PHP if we need it. My specific question is will we be able to link the PHP to MS SQL via ODBC? PHP.net said this was possible in their FAQ but I didn't see any details. They talk about an ODBC driver. Where can I locate this driver and are there any samples of how it is used?
Sorry for all the questions. I basically got pushed into this project so I need all the help I can get.
Thanks in advance,
Josh
