user accounts/interaction

[Bleed]

I'll be honest, I'm new to the world to computer programming/web design/etc. I know enough to be able to display a page for viewers to see, but then comes my problem...how do I get users to interact with my site?

For example, I want to be able to have users accounts. How do I do that?

Another feature I would like is for users to be able to 'review' stuff. They see a page (created by the site or ANOTHER MEMBER) and they have the option to leave a review and rating of that page. How do I create that feature?

Thank you all for any help you can offer me.

[buntine]

You will need to look into server-side programming. You will notice of these forums, there are sections for PHP, ASP, .NET, CGI, Java (JSP), etc. These are all examples of server-side language. You will also need a database. Each language can handle most major databases.

Which technology combination you use depends on the capability of your server. Personally, I stick with Microsoft software, such as Windows Serve 2004r and SQL Server 2004. Some people feel more conformable with Linux or other non-MS solutions.

What software are you running on your server? Or, even better, do you know which languages your server supports?

Here are a few ralated articles:
- http://www.sitepoint.com/article/server-side-language-right
- http://www.answerbag.com/q_view.php/533

Regards.

[Bleed]

Well, I'm currently in search of a host as well. As of now I'm using a 'free' host that supplies--

PHP, Perl/CGI-BIN
MySQL database.

However, I'm planning on upgrading to a different host (after I figure out this user stuff) which supports everthing (nearly) but ASP.

Thanks for your reply---much appreciated.

[buntine]

Ok, so your probably going to want to look into PHP and MySQL. PHP is available form www.php.net along with a stack of documentation.

I suggest you get the concepts down before you try to tackle any specific programming problem. Remember not to jump in the deep end before you learn to swim.

Regards.