where do i start ?

[dazron]

I am currently learning new web skills, and am using Ultradev on a Mac. I am trying to gather information on what languages and programmes I need to learn to perfom certain tasks.

Could any of you knowledgeable peeps please suggest to me where I start learning ? I need to learn CGI stuff for forms, and database stuff - live database searches etc...

I know its a bit vague - but I don't know how to be more specific.

What programming language do I need to learn ? Maybe we could have a discussion and you could ask me questions and suggest stuff.

I hope you can help me because I dont know where else to Start !


Thanks in Advance

Daz

 

[vcherubini]

Well you certainly came to the right forum.

There are many languages that you can use for form processing on the Internet. They include:
Perl
PHP
ASP
ColdFusion

There are others, but those are the primary ones. I prefer Perl/PHP as most of the people do in this forum.

Perl/PHP are also excellent for database interaction.

Perl has a module (a library, or like a header file in C) called DBI which allows you to interact with a multitude of databases very easily. I highly suggest you purchase the book Programming the Perl DBI by Bunce and Descartes if you want to get into Database programming with Perl.

PHP, being a newer language, does not have as many books devoted to it, yet is has over a 1000 built in functions that you can use to do just about anything.

It does not support modules the way Perl does because of its array of functions.

I can not recommend a book for PHP programming because I have not read any.

I also highly suggest purchasing the book Programming Perl Third Edition by Larry Wall (the creator of Perl) Tom Christiansen, and Randal Schwartz. This is referred to as the Camel Book or Perl Bible. It is an excellent read, very funny, and very informative.

Another great thing about PHP and Perl is that they are both open source and free, as opposed to ASP/Cold Fusion which can run in the 1000's of dollars for a copy.

There are literally hundred's of thousands of sites out there dedicated to Perl/PHP programming.

Some I suggest are:

http://www.perl.com

http://www.cpan.org

http://www.php.net

http://www.zend.com

Whew, that was a lot.

As always, I hope this helps.

-Vic vic cherubini
vikter@epicsoftware.com

http://www.epicsoftware.com

====
Knows: Perl, HTML, JavScript, C/C++, PHP, Flash, Director
====

 

[MikeBarone]

I found it very helpful to download a scripts that others have developed that all basically did the same thing. Look at the various ways different programmers do different things and use the way that is comfortable with you.

You can get many free Perl scripts from:

http://cgi.resourceindex.com/Programs_and_Scripts/Perl/

Starting with simple scripts like redirect, random text, etc. makes it a little easier.

Hope this helps. » » » » » »
Mike Barone

http://www.cgiscript.net

FREE and Pro CGI/Perl Scripts

FREE Scripts

http://www.cgiscript.net/scripts.htm