I'm self producing a web comic using a free hosting site. After looking around the web, I've noticed 99% of the successful web comics online use archives written in php.

here's the situation:
-I have NEVER made anyhting web based before.
-I JUST started using GoLive to build a page a week ago (after watching many many tutorials, I think I have the hang of it and made a somewhat professional looking site at http://andrew.ulmb.com)
-I have never programmed in my life (other than QBasic in computer engineering in high school), let alone worked with php before

now, is it worth it for me to look around the web and read up on php to make an archive? I would like somethign similar to www.questionablecontent.net but if you think somethign like that would be FAR too complicated for somebody who has never used php before, I'll just stick with html (it worked for white ninja).

or, if anybody knows a place or way to pull code from an already existing site on the web (of course I ask permission/give credit where it's due) please let me know because copy paste is so much easier than learning stuff.

but like I said, if its too complicated let me know so I can start making html pages. Also, what would the advantage be to a php scripted archive? easier upload? bandwidth decrease? if there isnt really anything special to using php thats another reason to use html I guess, but I would like updating my comic to be made as simple as possible.

thanks
nEmoGrinder

    I'm self producing a web comic using a free hosting site. After looking around the web, I've noticed 99% of the successful web comics online use archives written in php.

    PHP is free, easy to learn, and hosting for it is cheap. That's probably why this is the case.

    here's the situation:
    -I have NEVER made anyhting web based before.
    -I JUST started using GoLive to build a page a week ago (after watching many many tutorials, I think I have the hang of it and made a somewhat professional looking site at http://andrew.ulmb.com)
    -I have never programmed in my life (other than QBasic in computer engineering in high school), let alone worked with php before

    At one time or another, every programmer has started with no coding knowledge. PHP is a good place to start because it is forgiving, and pretty easy to work with.

    now, is it worth it for me to look around the web and read up on php to make an archive? I would like somethign similar to www.questionablecontent.net but if you think somethign like that would be FAR too complicated for somebody who has never used php before, I'll just stick with html (it worked for white ninja).

    There are MANY sites dedicated to PHP coding, and like the one you're on now, you'll find them packed with coding samples, forums and newgroups that can answer pretty much any question you have. You'll find beginners and professionals alike asking questions and contributing knowledge all the time in these places.

    Nothing in PHP is very complicated. You'll find the biggest hurdle in soving a PHP problem is putting yourself in a mindset that you're going to have to do some research, sometimes extensive, to solve your problem. A willingness to experiment and make mistakes helps as well (hell, I've been coding PHP for years, and I still mess up my coding frequently... 🙂 ).

    or, if anybody knows a place or way to pull code from an already existing site on the web (of course I ask permission/give credit where it's due) please let me know because copy paste is so much easier than learning stuff.

    Unless you break into someones web server, you won't be getting at their code... ( :glare: ... don't try it! ) However, the PHP community is great about sharing knowledge. Ask around in the forums, let others know what you're looking to do. Start writing pseudo-code (basically just a layout of what you want your script to do). Grab a PHP book from your local library or bookstore. You'll find sample code lots of places. It may not do exactly what you want, but PHP is easy to modify and alter to your needs.

    but like I said, if its too complicated let me know so I can start making html pages. Also, what would the advantage be to a php scripted archive? easier upload? bandwidth decrease? if there isnt really anything special to using php thats another reason to use html I guess, but I would like updating my comic to be made as simple as possible.

    PHP is not complicated, but you will need to dedicate some time to learning it. If you are in a big hurry to get your site up and running right away, you could look for a low cost or free premade script. You could also check these forums for people who do freelance PHP programming.

    The advantages of PHP over HTML:

    • Your website can have updated information without the need of changing your HTML pages by hand

    • Your can upload your new comics with the push of a button from your website instead of using FTP or similar program

    • One HTML page can show all of your comics instead of making an HTML page for every single comic

    • You get to code PHP... 😃

    The disadvantages of PHP over HTML:

    • You have to have hosting that supports PHP (not hard to find)

    • You have to maintain a database for your comics or a flat file (text file) with information about all of your comics in them

    • You have to worry more about website security, since you have code that can potentially be executed by anyone who accesses your site.

    • You get to debug PHP... 😕 (the way I write code, this is scary! J/K 🙂 )

    thanks
    nEmoGrinder

    You're welcome, and I hope you decide to take on this challenge. I think you'll appreciate your website more if you know you had a hand in coding it and learning a new and useful skill.

    I hope I didn't bombard you with too much information...

      On the contrary, HeyRay2, this is exactly the information I was looking for! Thanks a bunch!I will definitely be on these forums asking for plenty of help. And what better time to start than now?

      I already got some e-books and manuals and FAQs and all that on PHP, but do you know a good place to start (hopefully a place with a list of common commands and maybe a breakdown of how php is executed/how to properly create a site out of php).

      Also I already started building my pages out of HTML, so if I want to just build a portion of my site in PHP, that should be fine right? I know that you would use the <? or <?php tags to start a php script, so would this better suit my needs? (I only want to make a brwoeser for my comics, I dont necessarily need the whole site to be php).

      Lastly, you said:

      HeyRay2 wrote:

      You have to maintain a database for your comics or a flat file (text file) with information about all of your comics in them

      I'm assumign this is where MySQL would come in (my hosting allows the lastest versions of both PHP and MySQL to be used), am I right? Is MySQL complicated and how would I create a database of my comics?

      And lastly, you said I could upload from my page itself, that would be extra coding right? or is that inherent with php?

      Thanks for helping out a newb to make his site smoother than it currently is!

        MySql is like other database management systems based on the SQL language and as such is not that hard to learn. MySQL and the developers at PHP have worked hand in hand to make each product work well with the other.

        There are many tutorials that will get you accustomed to the use of SQL or MySQLs implementation of it that are helpful. a great online resource is Practical PHP Programming. You should when learning PHP at least have a working environment set up on your local PC so you can write script and then test it locally and when satisfied upload your script to your live site.

        XAMPP WAMP or MAMP (if you have a Mac) all will place a working Apache webserver PHP and MySQL, and if you used XAMPP Perl on your local PC. You might want to install one of these packages if you want to get started with the greatest of ease and speed.

          Write a Reply...