HTML Message boards?

[pathfinder74]

Can you build a message board that doesn't require some sort of PHP, CGI, ASP, whatever server?

One that just writes into the HTML code or something?

I thought my friend, a while back, had built one using Front Page, and that's all.

[konithomimo]

You would have to use a server side CGi script to successfully do this. There is no way to write to a file on your server without using one, and to have a message board that is updated for every user you would have to write to a file on your server.

[pathfinder74]

You would have to use a server side CGi script to successfully do this.


How much do you have to know about CGI to do that?

Do you have to have some sort of CGI server feature on your server to do this? Not too versed in it.

[thewebman]

you have to know quite a bit... I would recommend using PHP instead, cuz PHP makes using databases easy. btw, you must have a folder called "cgi-bin" in order to run a cgi script on the server.

[Bahamut-Xero]

in terms of effort, your better off just getting a server that runs php and installing phpBB (its free....). i dont know much about cgi scripting but i imagine having things like signatures that change on every post a member had made would be alot of work, it would take alot of work to make it as flexible as a solution that had a database end to it. i imagine it would be quite heavy on server load 2.

[felgall]

For someone to write the equivalent of phpBB would take a thorough knowledge of PHP and several years of their time. Why reinvent the wheel - unless you are using it as a learning exercise.

[JPnyc]

What felgall said. These forums, including the 1 you're on, are the result of yrs of development and refinement by a team of experienced developers. If you really want to do 1 yourself, and you don't mind it being a rather primitive one, functionally speaking, learn VBscript. It's about as easy as serverside languages get.