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**Watdaflip** · 08-15-2007, 05:54 AM

Re: PHP & MySQL 101 with BlueVoda?

My questions:
> Is this possible with PHP & MySQL?

Yes, PHP and MySQL are meant for these types of tasks

> Can I use what's available through BlueVoda to do this or do I need to download PHP & MySQL from the web?

PHP is a web language, it is installed on vodahost servers along with MySQL. They aren't something you need to have installed on your computer.

> Is there any difference between the BV versions and the web versions? ie will I be limited in any way now or in the future by using the BV version if I need to change something after entering a gazillion entries? and/or is the BV version updated and supported like the web version?

All the data would be stored in a mysql database. BV won't have anything to do with it. And any MySQL upgrades would be fully compatible with older data entries.

> The first page of my online tutorial says I need a server. Can my BV server function as this? Or, they are recommending Apache - so does that need to interact with my BV server somehow or is it totally separate?

BV is a program, Vodahost is the company that hosts the servers. All their servers run Apache with PHP and MySQL, your pretty much set on that end.

> Is there a BV tutorial? I see the one for PHPBB, but I am not looking to build a bulletin board...

There are tutorials online, probably not specifically for what you need to do, but the basic logic to what needs to be done. What you want to do isn't something you can sit down for a couple hours and get done. PHP is a programming language that takes time to learn. The tutorials that you saw for phpbb isn't for building the forum, its for installed software where professional have spend thousands of hours programming the forum scripts.

> Is there a way to have the search results show up in a nice, neat table that is dynamically sized? Would I do this through CSS style sheets? Where can I find code for table? (or a tutorial?)

Using BlueVoda possible (I say possibly because I can't be 100% that there isn't because I don't use it. But from the general nature of the program I don't believe so). It wouldn't matter anyway because any information you display from the database would have to be hand coded, which means you can pretty make it look however you want assuming you know how to do it. There are plenty of tutorials online for learning html and css, thats what you will need for displaying the content.

> Is there a way to enter link URLs into the database and have them associated to show up as clickable links for various words on the web page? Right now I am manually entering thousands of URLs for links and then re-entering them when I need to move the word and it gets unlinked - I'd like to have the system somehow keep the link associated with the word to cut down on all my manual entering...

Yes its possible to do, nearly anything is possible with PHP.

All your questions being answered let me clear some things up. I'm getting the feeling your thinking that BlueVoda will allow you to easily create a website like described. BV isn't meant for this type of website. BV is a html generator, meant to design webpages with static content. To create a php website you will need to learn the PHP programming language. Depending on how quick of a learner you are this could take anywhere from a couple weeks to months, possibly years. There are hundreds if not thousands of websites with tutorials and guides to help you learn php, but it won't be a step by step instructions for exactly what you want. It will be basic logic, techniques, and general programming help. A large portion of it will be up to you to connect the dots, piecing the small things you learned together to be a fully functional website.

I hope this helps

**tp22** · 08-15-2007, 06:34 AM

Re: PHP & MySQL 101 with BlueVoda?

Wow, thank you so much Watdaflip for your very speedy and thorough response! Extremely helpful information. I really appreciate it. I will also keep in mind your freelance services as I may eventually need some help...

In the meantime, I went to http://www.wampserver.com/en/download.php and downloaded PHP, Apache and MySQL. It sounds like this may be redundant to what I have through BV - should I actually delete it or am I fine with both?

I have also found this great video tutorial site: www.lynda.com which is great for people like me who need some hand holding through all this tech learning. You can sign up for $25/mo for basic access to thousands of tutorials, or $375/yr for the complete exercise files that explain how to do stuff step by step. Considering that a lot of courses are $375 for 2 days and this has thousands of hours of training, it seems like a good deal. Right now I am going through the PHP/MySQL tutorial and it seems really good.

Thanks again Watdaflip. What a great community.

TP22

**navaldesign** · 08-15-2007, 04:44 PM

Re: PHP & MySQL 101 with BlueVoda?

Apache/PHP/MySQL installed on your computer would allow you to test all your dynamic pages on computer level just as if you had them uploaded on the VH server. So it allows you to test php/MySQL offline.

I beleive that a good and free source for a new user like you is www.php.net. Then, there are thousands of FREE tutorials, tips and tricks on the net. I suggest that you first start with those, then you may go on with a subscription based service if you want more.

**tp22** · 08-15-2007, 07:27 PM

Re: PHP & MySQL 101 with BlueVoda?

Hi Naval - Thanks for your input. I haven't paid for the subscription yet, wondering if someone would mention a good free source. I will search for some good free video tutorials - those are much easier for me to learn from.

Thanks again!

TP22

**navaldesign** · 08-15-2007, 07:32 PM

Re: PHP & MySQL 101 with BlueVoda?

Just Google it for "free php and mysql tutorials". There are hundreds of sites offering free tutorials and tips. Hotscript has a php / mysql tutorial section, but there are as said, hundreds of them

**pristinelife** · 08-15-2007, 10:33 PM

Re: PHP & MySQL 101 with BlueVoda?

It seems as if php can be used for anything or kind of website. If we were to save our pages as php and not bv, what will change?

**navaldesign** · 08-15-2007, 11:11 PM

Re: PHP & MySQL 101 with BlueVoda?

You don't save your pages as bv or php.
Pages created with BV are ALWAYS saved, on your computer, as .bvp. When they are published, they can be published as html, or, if necessary (that is, if they contain php code) as php.

PHP pages, as well as html pages can be built using whichever text editor. Php and html editors, are also text editors, even though they have some particular features to make coding easier. Some of them have the ability to display the code result in a browser like window or in their own screen (as BV does), and some have some drag and drop features.

So it is NOT a matter of saving your pages as php but BUILDING them using php.

I use BV for the visual part of my php sites, and embedd php code directly in the pages.

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