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ralf_the_cat
11-22-2003, 11:30 AM
Hi,
A question from a newbie: I’m looking for a dynamic website solution and I’d like to know if I’d need to invest in learning php or if there is a simpler option for the following case.

What I want to achieve: I want operate many sites - a cluster of interlinked sites. The sites are going to be basically about the same thing but each site must be unique in terms of page weight, content and appearance to avoid setting of any duplication alarms. I don’t want to write or maintain each of them one by one. I want to manage these sites from a central location without them appearing as duplicates to search engine spiders or to passing human inspectors. On top of that, it would be ideal if there was an automatic system for keeping the sites fresh (new content constantly) and for me to publish addition content/pages across the cluster in one action.

How I guess I could achieve it: I guessed that a combination of different looking templates, different external css files and dynamic content sections mixed up across the multiple sites could do the trick.

I would make each template and css file by hand I guess but the navigation would need to be generated dynamically for me to be able to add new pages or links to new sites across the cluster.

The content would need to be generated dynamically. Each site would have pages about the same topics that I could make unique by creating long pages from multiple paragraph sections. If I had say 20 paragraphs written on a topic each page could grab 5 of them randomly to create multiple unique pages about one topic. Periodically, the site could refresh by grabbing the 5 paragraphs randomly again.

How ambitious is that? Can you point me in the right direction?: I’m not a programmer, I’m a designer who knows html. I’m willing to invest in learning what’s required to achieve this – php or whatever, but I’m looking for the simplest solution (I’d rather not invest in learning to program if I don't have to). I’m wondering how difficult something like that to would be to do... am I going to need to invest in developing a full on programming understanding to achieve this or would it be as simple as learning html? Is php the best choice for achieving this as easily as possible? Do you know of any existing simpler products, technologies, systems or services I could use instead (php was just my first guess).

Thanks

PeOfEo
11-22-2003, 11:34 AM
Server side programming would be the solution. Client site programming is unreliable so this is an obvious answer. You do not need to learn php, you can also use CGI ASP ASP.NET JSP or CF etc, but php will work of cource

ralf_the_cat
11-22-2003, 11:45 AM
THe thing is, I'm new to programing. I suppose all server side languages could do the job but I'm looking for the easiest solution. My guess is for php as I hear it's simplest for newbies and well supported. However, any chance you'd know of an existing script, product etc, that would get around me needing to learn to program? Or, do you think I would I really need to learn to program well to achieve this or could I get away with a basic understanding and a few "cookbook" like guides or existing scripts...

Thanks again.

PeOfEo
11-22-2003, 12:15 PM
What is your past programming experience. You said you are new to programming but do you know any vb? If you are good with java script or java go with php but if you are any good with vb I would say use asp.net

ralf_the_cat
11-22-2003, 12:37 PM
I suck.

I dabbled a bit with javascript and action scripting (that's beyond simple movie contolling) a few years ago but hit a bit of a brick wall - I needed a basic programing primer I think plus a desire/need to really make it happen. Learning to program won't be a walk in the park for me. It's going to take a lot of time that I'm not sure I'm willing to spend. That's why I'm wondering if it will ne neccessary for me to really grasp programming properly to achieve what I want, or if I can get away learning just a few neccessary bits and peices...

PeOfEo
11-22-2003, 01:01 PM
well, the server side languages generally use a language that is already in existance or are their own langauge b ut are heavily based on an already used language, just so they are not reinventing the wheel. So that will mean it is going to take you a little more time to pick this up because you need to actually learn a new language. In contrast when I started with asp.net I had already known vb for 2 years so I was able to jump right in. So maybe you should just buy a good book on whichever you choose. Do you happen to know what your server supports as far as a server side langauge?

toicontien
11-22-2003, 01:41 PM
You may be interested in the SMARTY template system. The web site I manage (http://www.cm-life.com/) uses this. SMARTY is built on PHP, but uses a slightly simpler syntax. You still need a grasp on programming fundamentals. Either way you go (PHP or Smarty) you'll need some programming experience, or be willing to learn.

There's no way around it.

Link:
http://smarty.php.net/

ralf_the_cat
11-23-2003, 02:16 AM
I came across SMARTY a few days ago. I glanced through the documentation and it looked to me that I'd need to know programming in order to work it out. Looks like it's time to get a few PHP books...

Thanks for your help