New to prograsmming

[budgi]

Hey guys,

I am so green at this side of programming you have no idea. I have always been a good graphics and multimedia designer but now i need to learn skills to develop database and dynamic based sites.

What I am really here to ask is what is what do i need to do to set up a basic site with a database back end. My goal is to set up a basic database and have some sort of scripting language pull the information out of it and put it web based.

I know i should never put the database online for security reasons and i know PHP is a great language and is free. So PHP is a scripting language I use to pull information out of a database right? Now does XML act as a database that I store information in? I know i sound semi-retarded to you guys but i honestly dont know. Also what software should I get to program in PHP? Obviously free is best because I am just learning, maybe trail versions?

Any help on this subject would be great.

[Khalid Ali]

Here is the best combo for you
Apache web server
PHP programming language (you only need a decent text editor for it)
MySQL installed
and thats it. you should be able get installation instructions over the net, if you can't let me know I can help you out taking care of the whole process(won't be too fast depends on how much time at any given day I have on hand)

[budgi]

Thanks for your reply that does clear some things up.

I still have a few questions.

Apache - I have used this before. I need this installed onto a computer that I want to be my server to run my website? that is correct? what exact roll does apache play?

PHP - Ok thats cool i understand this now and i will program it in something like dreamweaver, are there any good ebooks on php programming or anywhere a beginner like me can go?

MySql? - Is this my storing database? and this should be running on a seperate computer to my apache one because my apache system will be my web server? Can you please explain to me what and how Mysql works? this is the big phantom i dont know about. What do i edit this in? it this software or a language, do i need to buy this?

[Khalid Ali]

Apache - I have used this before. I need this installed onto a computer that I want to be my server to run my website? that is correct? what exact roll does apache play?


Apache is a web server, the role that it plays is a vital one to expose port 80 of your pc for the rest of the world.
What happens is a request comes to your PC(following an IP address or URL) at port 80 (http port), Apache intercepts that request, processes it and returns an approrpriate response.


PHP - Ok thats cool i understand this now and i will program it in something like dreamweaver, are there any good ebooks on php programming or anywhere a beginner like me can go?


Go to this link (http://www.php.net/manual/en/) for anything you want to learn about php


MySql? - Is this my storing database? and this should be running on a seperate computer to my apache one because my apache system will be my web server? Can you please explain to me what and how Mysql works? this is the big phantom i dont know about. What do i edit this in? it this software or a language, do i need to buy this?


Its free and yes you can purchase it as well
Go here for more details (http://dev.mysql.com/)
MySQL is a software which uses standard sql(Structured Query Language).
What happens that MySQL runs a server software on a machine where you install it(a server sofware is one that continously listens for requests), you can run it on the same machine where you have your apache running.
SQL can be written in any text editor, the power comes in when you will run that query in MySQL using command prompt or a web interface using php or any other programming language.

I hope this helps