JeevesBond — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 11:37:56 +0000

Hehehe, well I work for a company that do embedded and most of the devs around here pour scorn liberally on VB. I know VB very well and dislike it, again just opinion.

As for ASP, that's evil because of COM and the overhead of having to load a COM library every time you want to do, well, anything. PHP is damn fast, PHP/MySQL is faster (in most instances) than ASP/MSQL.

Simply the most popular combination is Linux + Apache + PHP +MySQL. As this doesn't look to be changing any time soon it's better to learn PHP/MySQL as these skills will be more marketable for you personally. That coupled with the other points make it a no-brainer.

robindaz — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 08:19:33 +0000

Hi Debby,

I would definitely recommend PHP and MySQL.
Besides that, Javascript is indeed commonly used, you can search for scripts you need on the internet and then just modify them (it's a good way to learn).

Besides that, for both PHP and Javascript, there's a lot of help out there, so you can always post your questions and find your answers in a forum.

Good luck!

mscreashuns — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 22:41:52 +0000

From what I've read about you, I think PHP (and MySQL) is your best choice. It is surprisingly easy (even for me) and can do an extensive amount of work.

Especially what you mentioned about photo galleries:

Once you get started with PHP and MySQL, and pretty used to each of them, a photo gallery will be extremely easy to figure out. I personally think it's easier (and more fun) to code something like a photo gallery (or a blog, for that matter) on your own for two reasons. One, you know the ins and outs of it and where everything is. Two, it's unique from everything else!

Do what you want, but that's my two cents.

EGS — Sat, 23 Jul 2005 03:32:35 +0000

PHP is the more common solution, and along the lines of being affordable considering that it's Open-Source. PHP really packs a punch, however, if you are in dire need of power and using your server, I'd suggest using Microsoft's ASP solution. It's faster, and more-over less stressful on the server in most cases. Of course, that's only if you have the money.

Megan — Fri, 22 Jul 2005 13:55:51 +0000

debchall wrote: Would flash be worth knowing or any other graphic related program?

If you're interested in design and programming together Flash might be of interest to you. It's a really powerful program when you get into ActionScript. Most designers don't have enough programming expertise to make the most of Flash. I do think that flash is more of a niche technology - it's good for certain types of problems but not so great for overall web page functionality. i.e. you wouldn't want to do a whole site in flash, but parts of a site (such as product tours, for example) work well with flash.

I don't know what your graphic design program entailed, but Adobe Illustrator is another useful program if you want to concentrate on design. Vector drawing is vitally important for any kind of logo design or print work.

I will say that it's tough to do both sides well. Most of us tend to specialize in certain areas, knowing that it's impossible to do everything well.

Neutron2k — Fri, 22 Jul 2005 13:43:43 +0000

JeevesBond wrote: And you must already know that VB is evil

Just out of curiosity, why is VB 'Evil'

Ive been a programmer for many years, and altough I prefer C, and its OOP brother C++, I have my uses for VB.

I also prefer ASP over php. thats my own preference but I see no advantage gains in using PHP apart from server costs.

People only dub VB evil because it is Microsoft imho.

Renegade — Fri, 22 Jul 2005 10:36:29 +0000

Hello Debbie and welcome to the forums

Yes, PHP is definitely a good next step to take.

I just looked at your site and noticed that you made it with MS word?! You also mentioned that you know how to use DreamWeaver?

Well, my suggestion would probably be to learn XHTML and CSS as I believe it is "the future."

You might also like to try a little bit of Javascript along with your PHP, focusing more on PHP of course

So, here's what I would suggest you learn:

XHTML and CSS followed by PHP and Javascript, focusing more on PHP

HTML to PHP

debchall — Fri, 22 Jul 2005 10:12:30 +0000

Thanks for welcome so far....

PHP sounds like a good option then. But would I not need to know Javascript as well or not? Are forms easy to do with PHP or even Perl/CGI?

I'm probably more into the programming side in answer to megan but would like to keep an eye on the design side as well. I am hoping to revamp my website with some of the graphics and art work I have done too. Would flash be worth knowing or any other graphic related program?

Debbie

JeevesBond — Thu, 21 Jul 2005 21:23:37 +0000

Quote: I have been a Embedded Software Developer for a number a years

Interesting... C I presume? If you're used to C then you'll like PHP - similar syntax. And you must already know that VB is evil

Welcome to TWF by the way! :wave:

Megan — Thu, 21 Jul 2005 19:30:05 +0000

Welcome to TWF, Debbie! Whew, I'm glad to see some more female names around here these days

For your site's needs you could probably find pre-written scripts to do everything you need to do. I think there are a few threads going on right now about photo gallery options, for example.

What to learn next depends on what direction you want your career to go. If you want to concentrate more on design you'll need to get some portfolio pieces to show off the graphics skills you ahve. Of course, there is always more to improve on, and more to learn about typography, colour theory, design techniques etc. If you want to get more into programming PHP (and mySQL) would probably be the next step.

HTH,