CGI/Web Scripting?

[Mithian]

Hey folks, its the little known roomate of a certain chicken sacrificer, come to ask .. *gasp* a stupid question. :)

I'm looking to get back into web design (to a certain extent). I have a box of my own, so security/pestering an admin isn't a problem.. now I just want to settle down and learn.

So, I'm looking for suggestions. I know virtually nothing about web scripting.. I've touched a little Perl, but really I don't even know what options are avilable to me.

Is CGI the only way? Is it the best? And better yet, does anyone know of any good places to start looking for information on how to learn..

Basic things I'd like to be able to do would be make a counter (okay, you know, start simple), and work my way from there on up to maybe something as full as a web board.. This is of course over an extended period of time.

Heh, anyway.. so I'm looking for all sorts of input. I have fair programming skills, so I don't really need and idiots approach to this, and I'm a quick learner.. so probably just like a website or a book or two and I can get what I want done.

So.. I'm outta here before the chicken sacrificer sees me and tries to addict me... :burn:

[Betty]

Heh. Welcome to our forum...the first thing that will be done with this post is probably, it will be moved to "Programming tips & tricks"...I'm just guessing.

As far as cgi, perl, php and all that I'm pretty clueless....I'm sure we have guru or two around here though ;)

Again, welcome.

[Mithian]

Originally posted by compuwife
Heh. Welcome to our forum...the first thing that will be done with this post is probably, it will be moved to "Programming tips & tricks"...I'm just guessing.


LOL, yeah.. I really wasn't sure if it would get moved there or not. I really thought about it.. but, just.. dunno, I think I look at scripting and "programming" differently. If it does get moved, I'm sorry for the work Mr or Ms. moderator. ;)

And thank you for the welcome. I've been around for a few months, I'm just not a very active poster. I'm trying VERY hard not to turn into my roomate.

Mithian

[Thelemac]

Originally posted by Mithian

And thank you for the welcome. I've been around for a few months, I'm just not a very active poster. I'm trying VERY hard not to turn into my roomate.

Mithian

Just cause you don't wanna be referred to as "elephant boy"...:D

[h20link]

it depends on what you wanna do........are you talking back-end coding or html manipulation, (like javascript?) I know you can download hit counters for free......you might just download one to see the code. It depends on what you want your scripts to do though. More info would be helpful

[Mithian]

Originally posted by h20link
it depends on what you wanna do........are you talking back-end coding or html manipulation, (like javascript?) I know you can download hit counters for free......you might just download one to see the code. It depends on what you want your scripts to do though. More info would be helpful

Well, I want to do a variety of things that would all be "back end coding". I recently got the idea for my own little web corner, so to speak, but I'd like all the content to be original.. well, okay, most all of it. 'cause I just can't do graphics but that is beside the point.

Anyway, I want to be able to do pretty much anything I put my mind to. I know thats is kind of general, but I want to *learn* how to be able to do it.

At this point, I don't even know what to do with a hit counter, even if I were to download one. I've browsed around for a few webpages, but most of them just have scripts -- not like, "This is how you can script. After you write your script put it in /path/to/scripts/" and call it from your html like this..

So.. hmm.. I don't think I've answered your question.. but maybe..?

Mithian

[Mithian]

Originally posted by Thelemac


Just cause you don't wanna be referred to as "elephant boy"...:D

I can think of a slew of other nicknames you have... and I don't want to be referred to as any of them.

Nor do I want to be as hairy and smelly as you. Hehe. Quite frankly, even though I'm not happy with who I am -- I can safely say there are a few people I'm happy I am NOT! :D :D

(We have such a healthy roomate relationship..)

[Betty]

So, basically what you are telling us is not only is Thelemac an insane chicken sacrificer, he is also hairy and smelly? :D

[Thelemac]

Originally posted by compuwife
So, basically what you are telling us is not only is Thelemac an insane chicken sacrificer, he is also hairy and smelly? :D

I should really donate my back hair to the balding. :D

[Mithian]

Originally posted by compuwife
So, basically what you are telling us is not only is Thelemac an insane chicken sacrificer, he is also hairy and smelly? :D

*bright lights flash and a loud bell starts ringing, "Ding! Ding! Ding!"*

We have a winner folks! Step right up compuwife and collect your prize. :) :D

Mithian

[Ploaf]

Originally posted by Mithian


Well, I want to do a variety of things that would all be "back end coding". I recently got the idea for my own little web corner, so to speak, but I'd like all the content to be original.. well, okay, most all of it. 'cause I just can't do graphics but that is beside the point.

Anyway, I want to be able to do pretty much anything I put my mind to. I know thats is kind of general, but I want to *learn* how to be able to do it.

At this point, I don't even know what to do with a hit counter, even if I were to download one. I've browsed around for a few webpages, but most of them just have scripts -- not like, "This is how you can script. After you write your script put it in /path/to/scripts/" and call it from your html like this..

So.. hmm.. I don't think I've answered your question.. but maybe..?

Mithian

Some ways to learn the various scripting is to download the scripts that are already done and look them over, modify them, etc. It wouldn't be a bad idea to pick up a book or two though. One of the ways that I found tutorials is to do a search for Perl tutorial, PHP tutorial, Java tutorial, and that sort of thing. Between Perl PHP and Jave you will be able to do quite a bit on the web. Also, many of these web scripting languages are similar to C in many respects(I know that's a broad generalization but..) and learning C would provide an excellent base even if it's just for learning basic programming techniques.

This forum and many like it use PHP, MySQL and CSS. The combination makes the forum fast and probably less of a resource hog than say the UBB, which is written in Perl if I'm not mistaken. There is a free php based forum that is pretty good overall available at www.phpbb.com and it should show you how some of the coding is done since it's a fairly large and complex script.

[Teacher_Doug]

If you want to start on something a bit more simple, check this out (http://www.chalcedony.com/javascript)

Its a back up site for a javascript book, and offers all sorts of free downloads for you to try. Enjoy :beer:

[Mithian]

Thank you very much Ploaf and Teacher_Doug, I'll make sure to give those a try. Luckily I'm already an accomplished *cough* *wheeze* programmer, so I'm just looking to pick up some additional skills, and so I have something to do with my free time.

Thanks again!

Mithian

[Quaky]

First of all I would like to state that I don't want to offend any linux freaks arround here :)

Now that's over with here's my suggestion:
If you are really a newcomer to web programming I suggest you install windows 2000 on your webserver and use IIS. It's not the most secure web server arround but if you keep it up to date (patches and stuff) It will do a very good job. IIS is very easy to config and has serious support for some of the major scripting platforms. I run only ASP and PHP on my IIS but I believe it is CGI and perhaps (if there is an ISAPI filter for it) PERL capable. Using SQL in ASP is also simple by using access databases and an ODBC DSN (Data Source Name). When you install IIS make sure to install the sample ASP code as well, you can learn a lot from it.

Hope this helps... Greetz, Quaky

[Quaky]

This forum and many like it use PHP, MySQL and CSS. The combination makes the forum fast and probably less of a resource hog than say the UBB, which is written in Perl if I'm not mistaken. There is a free php based forum that is pretty good overall available at www.phpbb.com and it should show you how some of the coding is done since it's a fairly large and complex script.
Does anyone knows of a free ASP forum that runs on IIS/SQL2000.

[Gnufsh]

I'd go with PHP if I were you. Easy to learn, simple to use, and very powerful. I don't like IIS, and the first web server I used was Apache, the basics are not to hard, especially on a windows. As for free ASP, I don't know. Check out hotscripts.com, or, better yet, install the PHP IIS module and MySQL. If you need any PHP help just ask.

-Dan