point me the right way

seanisean

Hi all/gurus

I am simply looking for the right direction here...
I wish to build a dynamic site selling a simple product which has simple variations in design.
I would like to display images and details of each variation possibly in addition using a shopping cart system paypal etc...
I have phpmyadmin mysql zend installed on my server...
I'm no stranger to xhtml and css, done a bit of c++ and java,
but the whole php / sql thang is a little fuzzy to me, I'm not sure of which jargon I should be using in my searches to find the answers I'm looking for... so I ask the gurus here of some clear and concise places to go which would perhaps help me on my quest of enlightenment here.
key confusions:

1) store images in sql database or file system?
2) how to display relational data with images?
3) what is the name of this type of system?
4) or where do i begin would probably suffice?

thanks in advance to anyone that can help me on my way

sean

phil_j_poore

PHP Documentation
is a good place to start then have a look at SQL
search google for any problems you have or post them on this page.
online tutorials help a lot at getting used to PHP\MySQL interface.
if you want your page to look really nice and ordered then i highly recomend Smarty

Roger_Ramjet

4) And my answer to this is always to go read Kevin Yank's article here and download the sample chapters. Get you up and running with mysql/php in a few hours.

1) store the images in a folder and the file names in the db. images have to be passed by the web server so all you need is the file name embedded in your html.

2) see 1)

3) photogallery? webpage? online catalogue? all depends on what the images are and where you are using them

seanisean

thanks phil and roger,

thats cleared things up a bit.... i got hold of kevin yanks book and it appears to be pretty freindly and concise, so i'll give that some studying tonight... and i'll give those sites a good going over too!

thanks once again, and don't be too suprised if more inane questions get posted by me...

sean