What language/program does this need??

As a newbie webmaster I need to find what is required to set this up:
I am making a site for a rental place. What 'language'/backend is needed to allow this on a forms page:
A customer enters desired rental items;
They get an email reply with an order number;
Now they change their plans, so, on a special page, they enter their reservation number, get the details, and make changes;
That info gets relayed back to the company office.
Do I need to learn SySql, Perl, Java...??
Any help greatly appreciated!
R.

Basically you just want 'a' server-side language and preferably a DB backend, the question is which one? PHP/ASP/JSP/CFM are all capable, even PERL but it depends on which of these resources you have available

PHP (my prefered) will probably use a MySQL or PostgresSQL DB , ASP usually SQL server or Oracle etc , again it depends on the server that hosts your site.

If you know any JAVA/servlets look at JSP , if you know VB look at ASP, in all cases look at PHP - checkout http://www.php.net and http://www.zend.com for starters.

Thanks Simon,
I will check out those links, they give me a place to start, but I think it's going to be a steep (but interesting) learning curve!
R.

I would go with PHP as well. I really prefer Perl, but PHP has a lot of native database functionality which could make it a lot easier for you to grasp since it seems you are at a beginnning level with any of this stuff. If you were to go with Perl you'd have to start getting into Object Oriented design, which for this case could be unnecessary.

I definetly agree that php is the way to go with what you describe for the experience level you describe. The web is almost overflowing with arcticles and tutorials to perform just the functions you describe. You will need to learn a little programming basics (your whole life, but an hour or two will get you started!), some basic SQL (one hour), how to set and retrieve cookies (ten minutes), and you'll probably fight with the code for a week before you get it good enough for a professional (appearing) website. Of course, I do assume that you are reasonable familiar with HTML and have a web server (*NIX, I hope, with apache) with a MySQL database and php4 pre-installed.

Dotan Cohen
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MySQL php4
50 megs $9.99 http://TerribleHost.com
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Now I am totally confused! Well, not really, but I started teaching myself ASP and VBscrip. I installed the PWS on my Win982ed PC so I can practice. If I wanted to try PHP/MySql would I be able to make that work on my PC - or would I have to upload to a server? (Unix/Apache)
I am used to making static pages in GoLive (although I am close to switching to DreamweaverUntraDev) so this is a whole new set of languages. Yes, I can edit HTML, but I look forward to learning ASP and/or the other languages, to be able to fine tune the pages.
Thanks for the help!
R.

The easiest way to install PHP/MySQL/Apache on Windows is going here :

http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Scrip...tallation_Kits/

Selecting one that you like and trying it out. PWS will work with PHP just fine although Apache is optimal :-) There is also some good information here :

http://www.php.net/manual/en/installation.php

It discusses dealing with PWS too.

This may help you in your decision to learn PHP or ASP.
http://www.devshed.com/Talk/BrainDump/PHP/

ASP limits the software/hardware that you can use in conjunction, as you will see when you follow that URL.

Interesting reading.. following those links gave me a lot of food for thought. Installing PHP seems rather complicated. When it comes to such involved configuration I am not sure I trust my capabilities! What am I installing? A program? Or is it the capabilities to "read" PHP?
(I went to http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Scrip...tallation_Kits/
and took a look at "EasyPHP". The link took me to a page in french.. now I can speak a bit of french.. but!)
I have several sites on a server that supports PHP4, could I upload pages to test without having to "install" PHP on my PC? As you see, I am still confused about the basic way PHP/MySql works. But the more I read the more curious I become.. I won't rest till I figure this out!
Thanks again for the help!
R.
PS. What are "tarballs"???

As far as where to go for downloads. Try here: http://www.php.net/downloads.php
For more information on how to use PHP you can go here: http://www.devshed.com/Server_Side/PHP/

As far as MySQL goes, there is a lot of documentation at http://www.mysql.com.

PHP/MySQL information. Hmmmm. If I were you I'd bite the bullet and pick up a book. I have one called (appropriately) "MySQL", by Paul DuBois and published by New Riders. It has an entire chapter devoted to use of PHP with MySQL in addition to many chapters on using, and installing MySQL.

Au revoir...heh

Regarding your lack of French, then don't install that one! :-) Two popular ones are the last two, phptriad and phpdevelopment as is the abria package. At some point you'll come to enjoy http.conf and php.ini but at first it may seem pretty scary.

Oh, mon Dieu! I think I will bite the bullet and download PHPDevelper from Fireworks. It seems pretty straightforward. Just put it on my C drive and take it from there. But before I do that it's a full backup of my system, (I'm paranoid!) while I go to the bookstore to stock up on some serious books on the subject. Am I correct in assuming that the PHP folder functions separately from my PWS wwwroot folder? So if I want to test .asp pages I put them into the wwwroot folder, and if I do PHP my browser will find them in the PHP folder? (Both occupying separate place on my C drive.) I guess I will figure it out! No doubt I will be reading the other forums here when I get going. Thanks for the help.
By the way, great site Philip: http://www.cornado.com, soooo C L E A N and streamlined!
R.

Hey Ramiro,

PHP will not take over your system or delete anything, really :-) Also, you designate a web root folder during setup and if you specify it as anything other then wwwroot/ then they will be seperate. For apache, this web root setting is specified within httpd.conf. Yes, you'll figure it all out, just don't stress about it! Btw, thanks for the kind words regarding cornado, one might say I prefer streamlined sites with few (if any) graphics. Graphics fill up the logs with hits, I don't like that :-)

For some windows information, check out :

http://www.php4win.de/
http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=php-windows&r=1&w=2

As well.

Wow!!
I did my first .php test.. but I chickend out downloading the php stuff. I will do it, but being rather impatient, I wanted to see if it could work on my outside server. (I have dsl so it's no big deal uploading)
http://www.annagraphics.com/asp/goforit.html
Nothing to write home about, but hey.. now I have the set-up and linking figured out I can get to the real stuff. I bought a big fat book, "Beginning php", so I will be busy. It's a whole new world for me. Thanks to both for your help, I'm hooked!
Anyone else reading this.. take the above advice - it's fun!
R.