Topic: Design advice

[Steve]

I am starting from scratch on my friends website/database. The basic premis is information is populated to the DB via import (csv, excel, etc). This information is displayed/searched by anyone on the website, no registration required. Team members will have an account to login and delete/edit entries.

Now the original developer had done something in JS, with a MySQL DB. I will be using MySQL, and normally i would do something in php with div's, etc. But the little i did get to see of the original system is seemed to use much less code. I am trying to determine the easiest, fastest, most effecient method of doing this.

Any advice? I know some of you, like tgm, are very big with JS. I dont know anything about it, all i know is it seemed very easy to embed the system he used into any page and have it run. If he was onto something i would like to continue on that path, i just need a point in the right direction.

[Steve]

Maybe it was AJAX. I wish i had a screenshot. Because it was something like this:

http://www.w3schools.com/PHP/php_ajax_database.asp

Basically it was an element within a page, and when you logged in the database was displayed in a-z order by default until search criteria was given. When you clicked a name a new page loaded inside the element showing the image, details, etc.

Was this a good method? If so i can persue on that front. I'm new to JS/AJAX.

[micah]

still not sure how that guy was using JavaScript to connect to the server side.  Not really possible as JS runs in the client browser.  Unless of course he was talking about AJAX but even then, its just javascript calling to a server side script.  (unless this isn't browser based and your programming in something like Adobe Air that lets you use JS as a server side language)

>>i would do something in php with div's

sound like a plan, but remember, tabular data is one of the few thigns that ACTUALLY BELONGS IN A TABLE :-)  so don't use divs.

as far as design, get it all working first with the back end.  Write your PHP scripts that access the MySQL db and pull out info to a table.  Then right some very basic HTML forms to input data into the mySQL tables.

AFTER it all works, THEN you can worry about design - you can use CSS to style your datatables and your input forms as well as the overall look and feel of the page.

[Steve]

I have been toying with it. I think he use AJAX/JS for the display. Basically it seems like that link i provided. An html page, calling a js element, using a php file to link the db to the js.

[Steve]

Here is what he had.

M-Fugitive.php is the page the user is taken too. Then login.php was displayed within it. After logging in, or clicking login as guest, the login would refresh to the list of database entried within the same element. Clicking one would then refresh it again to the specific entry's page.

I will be eliminating the need to login. Now the third file, -iFugitive.html is responsible for....something.

[Steve]

What do you guys think of using something like a configurable table applet? Just embed it into the website and configure it.

[VBprogrammer]

Applet? Did I just wake up in the 90's?

Dude, do it in PHP the way you always would and add AJAX where appropriate to enhance UI elements.

[Steve]

Applet? Did I just wake up in the 90's?

Dude, do it in PHP the way you always would and add AJAX where appropriate to enhance UI elements.

Thats what i ended up doing.