5 replies to this topic

[r_j]

Hi guys, well recently i pushed my self to learn Python and its taking me forever just to understand the basics but ive made it threw, now i want to continue learning python but I also want to pursue python in terms of web development , now i have no experience working in MySQL, cgi and barley any experience in html in general. My end goal is to make fully functional websites...should i just focus on python and try to become even better at it, or maybe learn mysql on the side, xml or html...i dunno guys...opinions are appreciated.

[WingedPanther]

You'll probably want to start with (X)HTML and JavaScript. W3Schools Online Web Tutorials has some good tutorials on them.

[Alexander]

Python could certainly be used online to create functional websites, you would create the website with HTML and maybe CSS for styling and Javascript for interactivity. Python could be used to process and handle forms, or speak to the database, and can be a replacement of PHP.

I believe there are a few affordable web hosts out there that support Python as an Apache module right away, so it may not cost much if you wish to host online.

[denarced]

I have to agree with WingedPanther to some degree. What ever kind of stuff you wanna create, you first have to learn the basics of HTML with a side order of CSS. You could maybe utilize python while learning. Create html tables with loops and lists and so on. And before you wanna get into MySQL you should study a bit about relational databases in general. Then you could start combining the two and start creating web sites with databases and hell, you might wanna take a shot at creating an MVC-style website.

This all depends (IMHO) on what level you wanna create websites on. If you wanna advance to the high professional level than there many ways to get there but ultimately you're gonna have to get to know a few concept like:

• MVC
  
• Object-relational mapping. Not entirely sure about this one but when things get complicated, this one's nice.
  
• Web frameworks like web2py and django. Professionals never directly create html tables or forms. They use the frameworks with which things can get done quicker, but they require you to put in a down payment in the form of time studied.
  
• I18N. No text seen by the users is ever hard coded, but is part of one language's definition file and switching languages becomes easy.
  
• Security issues: a long story involving a lot of authorization and authentication.
  
• One step higher to MySQL in abstraction is to abstract the entire database with tools like sqlalchemy. Then you can switch the databases with relative ease.

The list goes on.. If you wanna first reach the hobbyist level, start using python to produce html and css. The road to professional level isn't as much fun as this is, so remember to have some :)

[Flying Dutchman]

I haven't dealt much with Django, which is Python framework for websites, but I know you can quickly create forms and such without knowing/modifying any html and/or css file. In fact, I've yet to discover how to change those styles. :P

[r_j]

Thank you guys, you have given me great insight and i greatly appreciate it.