how to implement this database

covert215

I'm very new to php. I'm making my own CMS so that my non-html literate friends can update the website. First, the user logs in. If the username and password are correct, a page is generated that contains a textarea for entering what they want. When they click submit, their article is POSTed into another file. What do I need to do to make any submitted article appear on the front page? Assume I know nothing. I need the article to be stored somewhere and then recalled to the index page. I am very good with HTML but I'm just learning php.

covert215

would any of the premade scripts be appropriate here?

gamber

covert,
There are alot of great resources on the net.
If you are using Dreamweaver, take a look at the adobe.com site and there should be a developer's link.
Once caveat, I have found DW a pain in the butt for anything complex, but it should be great for the simple.

I would also strongly suggest your local library or purchase a book by Larry Ullman - simple and easy to follow and should give you the info you are looking for.

Lastly, do a quick search within del.icio.us with your key terms - some pretty knowledgible people out there.

Good luck and keep learning!

covert215

Cureently, I have a workaround where the user writes to a text document, which is then displayed on the home page. Does anyone know how to preserve formatting (e.g. keeping line breaks)?

gamber

the best way is to use some form of css formatting.

again the internet is the best research tool

have you considered using a content management system (CMS) such as WordPress. Many products exist, just do a search for "open source cms" or wordpress

ClarkF1

With regard to line breaks.....

What I do is I use file_get_contents to get the file, then explode using "\n" as the separator.

I then loop through the resulting array, adding "<br>" to each value:

$data = file_get_contents('file.txt');
  $contents = explode("\n", $data);

  echo "<div class=text>";
  foreach ($contents as $value)
  {
    echo $value."<br>\n"; // the \n just makes the source code readable if viewed
  }

laserlight

ClarkF1, use [man]nl2br/man.