2 replies to this topic

[SmokeJaguar]

Hey guys,

So I came across this forum whilst doing some google searches and you all seem extremely knowledgeable! Let me start by saying I know very little about programming! In fact the only experience I've ever had of anything like this was building very basic HTML websites when I was in my early teens. However, I am extremely willing to learn and I just need some guidance.

In the future I'd like to build a website for an internet business. Unfortunately I'm a student and although I know that putting this in the hand of a professional would be much quicker and probably come out nicer, financially I really don't have the means.

Now... the kind of website I'd like to start would involve the following:
The ability for:
1) People to register and create profiles independently (i.e. without me creating it for them)
2) People to be able to send private messages to eachother on the website
3) People to be able to do searches on the website for other members (based on factors like location etc)

I suppose these are the main components. Now, I really wanna get this website up ASAP. However, I understand that obviously it's not gonna happen overnight and it can be extremely difficult/time consuming to learn how to do this and then actually go out and do it... so I'm under no delusions.

However, I want to get on the right path before I do anything! So, how would I go about creating this? What kind of languages would I need to use? Javascript, PHP, Ajax?

I suppose the website would be like Facebook on an EXTREMELY!!! simplistic/basic level (in terms of creating profiles, sending messages etc). I make no pretensions that I could probably create something like that in my lifetime!

Anyway if anyone could help I'd be extremely grateful. I pretty much have no idea but I'm willing to learn. I'm sorry if this is in the wrong section btw, it seemed the best one to post in from what I could see.

Thanks again,
Nick

[wim DC]

Website = HTML. Just a static page. Very ugly.
You make it pretty with CSS
You make the page 'dynamic' with Javascript, i'm talking about dragging stuff, tabs, other fancy stuff. Usually when something moves (slideing panels or the opening tabs,....) on a website Javascript is involved.

These 3 create a webpage that's the same today as it will be tomorrow and next month. Any dynamic data on it comes from a server side code.
There are a bunch of different server side codes: PhP, C# (asp), VB (asp), Java (jsf / jsp), (ruby too I think)
Also connecting to a database and putting stuff in it + getting it out again happens at the server side code. (you propably want a database to store the users/profiles in, unless you store it in other stuff like excel-/ xml-/txtFiles.
Managing your database will happen in SQL.. you propably don't need to know a whole lot of this language. You'll be able to create the database with a GUI, just insert / select / update statements may be handy to know how to write.

Bare minimum:

• html
  
• php / c# / VB / java / (ruby too I think)

Assuming you use a txt-file/Excel-file/xml-file to store all your users in.
Those 2 will create an incredibly ugly, but working, website that can have the features you've described.

Something more decent will also involve:

• css
  
• javascript
  
• SQL

The ajax you've mentioned is just Javascript. It's a technology, written in javascript code, to access the serverside code without having to reload the page.

Note that Java <> Javascript


Almost every language I mentioned can be learned (at least the basics can) at W3Schools Online Web Tutorials

[WingedPanther]

You will need PHP and a MySQL database. I've got a series of tutorials that will get you started about "building a big program" or some such.