Hi all,
I am new to web development.
I have following basic questions.
1.I have winxp pro installed on my computer, do i need som web server, can I use IIS which is a part of winXP pro?
2. I want to use some script languages with html code, which one of the following I can use on winXP with IIS, ASP, ASP.net, VB, JSP(java script language) or even suggest someone which is more appropriate than above mentioned script languages?
3. Can I find some free site on the internet where I can put my files for learning purpose?

4. Do I need something else software to develop my pages except html browser, web server, scritp, databas?

I will aprecitate if someone can answer all or any of my above questions.
thanks in advance
regards
rsasalm

The most popular web server used on the Internet today is by far Apache.

The fastest-growing web scripting language is PHP.

The most popular database used today is MySQL.

Combining these three together, you get a stable, powerful and secure platform to develop web applications, sites and so on.

However, setting up Apache, PHP and MySQL has become quite a difficult task and a time-consuming one, at that. Luckily, you can download a WAMP package that contains everything you need already.

The Uniform Server is very lightweight but contains everything you need to get up-and-running: Apache, Perl, PHP, MySQL and phpMyAdmin. Plus it's just a 4.33 MB download.

James

Free PC Help forums

"do i need som web server, can I use IIS which is a part of winXP pro?"
You can use IIS.

"which one of the following I can use on winXP with IIS, ASP, ASP.net, VB, JSP(java script language)"
You can use any of the above on IIS...But let's be clear about what each one is:

1. ASP - Similar in structure to PHP. You write pages in VBScript or server side JavaScript (usually VBScript).

2. ASP.Net - Has essentially nothing in common with ASP. ASP.Net is, IMHO, the most powerful web application platform available. It abstracts much of the HTML & javascript and instead you write .aspx pages with server controls. You write the code itself in C#, Visual Basic.Net, or C++.Net, or any other .Net language. ASP.Net is the most difficult to learn, and not very well suited to small projects. But it is the most popular for enterprises and fortune 500 companies.

3. VB - It's not clear whether you're talking about VBScript, Visual Basic.Net, or traditional VB (6.0). The first two I've already mentioned, and VB6 isn't typically used for a server side scripting language.

4. JSP - This is not javascript. It stands for Java Server Pages. Your code is written in Java (which is not even related to javascript). Java, like ASP.Net, is very nicely suited for large applications, but it still keeps presentation and code together, like PHP and ASP.

5. PHP - A very popular choice, particularly for small to medium sized web sites. It's probably the easiest to learn and there are lots of good resources out there for it. Works very nicely with mySQL.

Another thing to keep in mind is cost...If you're going to make these sites available to the public (ie not just on your personal xp pro machine), hosts that support ASP, ASP.Net, and JSP typically cost more than PHP. (JSP is usually an add-on, ASP and ASP.Net cost more in the base price).

If I were planning on building a medium to large web site, my order of preference would be:
ASP.Net, JSP, PHP, ASP

If I were building a small to medium website, or was concerned about portability or cost of the hosting package, my order of preference would be:
PHP, ASP.Net, JSP, ASP

Good luck,
-SN

Most of your programming options have been covered so I won't go into that (PHP rules, bigup the open source movement!).
As far as your point 3 goes (free hosting), most ISP's now offer some free web space with most plans, so check yours out, you may already have a free place to learn. A point to note is that they won't give you access to a database, if you want to learn this you will have to set up your own or pay for hosting - available cheaply at www.wizard-ict.co.uk (sorry for the shameless plug guys :-) ).

Wizard ICT. Microsoft Certified Professional

Hi again,

Thanks alla of you for so detailed information.
I want to start web programming with PHP along with MYSql. I don't have access to Linux operative system.
Is it possible to use PHP, APACHI and MYsql on win xp. Can WAMP or Uniform server be a possible solution for me to use PHP, APACHI on window OS?
thanks in advance
regards
/rsasalm

You don't need any external tools to use PHP, mySQL, and Apache on windows...They will all work fine. Just use one of the installation packages Michael J referred you to.

-SN

Just use one of the installation packages Michael J referred you to.

Uh, SN, did you mean me? :-)

Whoops...Yes, I meant you. I was too lazy to double check that.

-SN

Hi again,

Now I have installed the lastest versions of Apache, PHP and MySql from their respective web sites.
I have even checked to load PHP files locally in my internet explorer browser and it works as for as PHP files without database functionality are concerned.
But I have problem regarding creating database and connecting to it.
For example if I run the following code

*****************
<html><head><title>Birthdays Create Database</title></head>
<body>
<?
$link = mysql_connect("localhost");
if (! $link)
die("Couldn't connect to MySQL");
//create database
mysql_create_db("mydatabase")or die("Create Error: ".mysql_error());
mysql_close($link);
?>
</body>
</html>
********************
stored in a file called birthdays_create_database.php

I get the following error:
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Warning: mysql_connect() [function.mysql-connect]: Access denied for user 'ODBC'@'localhost' (using password: NO) in c:\program files\apache group\Apache\htdocs\birthdays_db\birthdays_create_database.php on line 4
Couldn't connect to MySQL
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Why, what I am missing more?
thanks in advance
regards
/rsasalm

Hi again,
After reading few old mails on this site I came to know that both mysqld.exe and mysql.exe should be running.
Now I checked my Task manager and found that mysqld.exe is running and not mysql.exe.
I tried to runt mysql.exe manually and got the following error.
C:\mysql-noinstall-4.1.12a-win32\mysql-4.1.12a-win32>cd bin

C:\mysql-noinstall-4.1.12a-win32\mysql-4.1.12a-win32\bin>mysql
ERROR 1045 (28000): Access denied for user 'ODBC'@'localhost' (using password: N
O)

C:\mysql-noinstall-4.1.12a-win32\mysql-4.1.12a-win32\bin>

Any help
regards
/rsasalm

Hi again,

Now I changed the line
$link = mysql_connec("localhost", "rsasalm", "xxxxx");
from
$link = mysql_connect("localhost"); and now I get the following error:

###############
Warning: mysql_connect() [function.mysql-connect]: Client does not support authentication protocol requested by server; consider upgrading MySQL client in c:\program files\apache group\Apache\htdocs\birthdays_db\birthdays_create_database.php on line 4
Couldn't connect to MySQL
#################

Still no success.
Any idea
regards
/rsasalm

Hi,

Basically:

To use the latest MySQL you need to use PHP5 which doesn't activate MySQL support by default.

PHP5 to MySQL connectivity is a bit 'confusing', I also got confused at first.

Take a look on this thread to the end, and if you still have problems please create a new topic. I found this topic on google search, not by browsing computing.net :D