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Location:
Launceston, Tasmania
Registered:
May 2002
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Question for the computer nerds!
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Thu, 15 July 2004 05:52
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I have a uni project where i have to help a business with something in the way of ecommerce. The business i have found (butcher shop) requires a webpage that has an ordering system. What it needs is an interface where the user can fill in the form and it is then submitted to a list. The end result needs to be a list that the butcher can access and have all the days orders.
I can make the webpage side of things without a hastle, the bit i am unsure on is how to have the data submitted to a server and then compiled and to a list. Am i right in thinging that sql, php or ASP my be required for this? i have nerver used any of them and need to know which is the best method for me to research. Any other sugestions are welcome!
Also, the system will need ssl. I have never had much to do with ssl, is it easy to implement in the way of the above system?
any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated!
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Location:
Launceston, Tasmania
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Question for the computer nerds!
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Fri, 16 July 2004 00:25
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Anyone know anything about php sql or asp???
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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
July 2002
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Re: Question for the computer nerds!
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Fri, 16 July 2004 00:48
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If its small, then using a form in PHP and piping the output to a file, then writing a small program that goes through the file and generates a report shouldn't be hard at all.
You don't NEED a database. It'd make it a lot simpler, but depends what you need to impress your lecturer.
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Location:
Launceston, Tasmania
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Question for the computer nerds!
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Fri, 16 July 2004 00:52
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All it really needs to do is display a list of orders for a specific day in a table format. A database wouldn't be absolutely neccisary, although records of previous orders would need to be kept. Thanks for your help 
I am still reading up on php and sql to try and get the hang of how these things actually work!
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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
July 2002
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Re: Question for the computer nerds!
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Fri, 16 July 2004 00:59
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You can read a record from one file, process it then write it to another. Or you can just keep all the data on one file and put a date on when it was entered etc. then just report on a specific date etc.
Just remember there are always 20 different ways of doing things, try and find at least 4 or 5 and chose one of them.
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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
July 2002
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Re: Question for the computer nerds!
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Fri, 16 July 2004 01:04
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Thinking about it again, PHP might not be needed. ASP might be better as it won't need a webserver (or does it?).
I'm a java guy anyway, so don't know much about PHP/ASP configs
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Location:
Launceston, Tasmania
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Question for the computer nerds!
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Fri, 16 July 2004 01:17
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I havn't looked in to ASP yet but might do a little research in a while. I have 13 weeks to get this project done so i'll be trying a few different methods. Thanks again for you help!
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Location:
Rowville, Victoria
Registered:
April 2003
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Re: Question for the computer nerds!
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Fri, 16 July 2004 02:49
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Use PHP  You can do things much easier and using less code in PHP than ASP. I'm using both and wish hateful thoughts on clients who still want to run with ASP over PHP 
Easiest way, write the data into a Comma Separated Values (CSV) file which you can then open up in Excel (voila! table format)
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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
July 2002
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Re: Question for the computer nerds!
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Fri, 16 July 2004 03:53
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Yeah the CSV file is what I was suggesting. (but failed to mention  )
Thats what we do for my dad's site, it works well, he just either views the file from the site or downloads it and views it locally. Too easy.
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Location:
Launceston, Tasmania
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Question for the computer nerds!
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Sat, 17 July 2004 01:34
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thanks heaps guys, if i was to use CSV would that eliminate the need to use mysql at all?
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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
July 2002
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Re: Question for the computer nerds!
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Sun, 18 July 2004 10:35
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you can do it all on flat files if you want. Keep the items details and pics on a file, report to a file, etc.
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Location:
Perth
Registered:
August 2003
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Re: Question for the computer nerds!
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Sun, 18 July 2004 18:53
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asp is the way to go..... FOR EVERYTHING 
Page 1. Have a form with all the things of what a person can order and purchase.
Page 2. Adds everything on that list to a database.
Page 3. Lists everything in the current database to the screen.
is there anything more specific that needs to be used for this project like credit card transfers if they have to pay upfront, userlogin and discounts for regular buyer?
i might have some useful examples i can send you if need be 
*kicks php*
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Location:
Cabramatta, NSW
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Question for the computer nerds!
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Sun, 18 July 2004 23:29
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Flat files will only work if all you're doing is reading in data and writing it out.
If you need to do specific queries on the data like: "list all the different types of beef", then it'd be easier to go with a database.
10 PRINT "ASP sux"
20 GOTO 10
Both ASP and PHP require a webserver that can handle the files. Apache has modules for both.
SSL is a server-based config thing. It shouldn't affect the pages that you write... Once the webserver is set up with SSL, all you have to do is use the https protcol instead of http.
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Location:
Launceston, Tasmania
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Question for the computer nerds!
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Sun, 18 July 2004 23:31
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I've been playing around with php a bit and have worked out how csv works. I like it although is there any way i can implement security in to it? eg: so only the administrator can view the csv file and other people can only add to it.
We don't have any guidelines for the assignment other than it has to be something in the way of ecommerce and more advanced than a basic webpage. I will be suggesting an online payment system although this will be as a future improvement so i won't have to make it at this stage. Another thing i would like to implement is a mailing list for customers, i think i know how to do this using php and csv but again security is an issue.
jackel: At this stage i have spent about a week with php and don't really want to start again with something new. Is ASP basically a competitor to php that does the same things just in a different way? I might look in to ASP a bit later on as i have the entire semester to work on this project.
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Location:
Cabramatta, NSW
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Question for the computer nerds!
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Sun, 18 July 2004 23:48
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Security, eCommerce, and online payment are pretty advanced concepts. Any site with those features would not run from a flat file...
If you're thinking about doing those things (especially the mailing list), your life would be much easier if you stuck everything into a database rather than a CSV file.
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Location:
Launceston, Tasmania
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Question for the computer nerds!
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Sun, 18 July 2004 23:55
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I might do a bit more reading and experimenting CSV did seem a bit simple, thanks for the help!
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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
July 2002
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Re: Question for the computer nerds!
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Mon, 19 July 2004 07:17
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If it needs to be a more complex website (ie with logins) then you'll need a database (mySQL is the best home/study database). I should've realised this when you wanted SSL.
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Location:
Launceston, Tasmania
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Question for the computer nerds!
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Mon, 19 July 2004 07:28
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i'm gradually getting the hang of this stuff, took me ages to actually get php to connect to the database  can any of you guys reccomend a freeweb host that supports php/mysql?
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Location:
Perth
Registered:
August 2003
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Re: Question for the computer nerds!
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Mon, 19 July 2004 08:27
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if you need a asp one http://www.websamba.com is a good website for hosting
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Location:
Rowville, Victoria
Registered:
April 2003
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Re: Question for the computer nerds!
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Mon, 19 July 2004 15:30
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Bleh to ASP (always sucky pages ) Gotta do something now in ASP and I swear I'd be done by now if it was done in PHP...but NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Stupid ASP, have to write more lines than it's worth just to do something simple ><
If you want to use admin logins, dodgy way is to hard-code the password You can set it up so that when u first create the account manually, do an md5 encryption to it, save that md5'd string as an encrypted password (i hope i made sense there).
Or alternatively is to password protect that directory using .htaccess passwords.
The other way is to put it in a DB, but encrypt the password so that it's not still plain-text. I wonder why ppl save passwords on a database w/out encrypting it....kinda defeats the purpose. Highly unlikely that someone will get access to the DB i know, but still in the highly unlikely chance that someone does.....
Chuck the CSV file in a folder and have the admin section in that folder. That way, the only way someone's going to find the folder is if they get into the admin section or access it by a direct address (ie. http://www.yourdomain.com/doc/mydoc.csv, etc). Name the csv file something really random involving both letters and numbers. It'll be a hard ask for someone to guess what you named that file.
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