I'm only a few months away from graduating with my BA in MIS. I'm taking a capstone course right now that includes a semester long project which involves everything we've learned since day one. However, my professor for this course was under the impression that we had learned something by now, and we haven't.

The project is to create an online bookstore. The part that's stumping me is I'm supposed to be able to code the site to where it will interact with an SQL database, which will serve as an "orders list" for the site. Cheesy, I know... but it's still gotta be done.

My question is, how do I code the site to where it'll interact with the database? I'm thinking it'll be a simple form where the inputs are somehow stored in the proper SQL format for the database. If somebody would just point me in the right direction, I'd be more than grateful. Maybe a website or something that talks about doing something similar? Any ideas are appreciated!

Oh yeah, and I've already been through the whole "my professor is an idiot for expecting us to do this and not wanting to show us how" fiasco. Trust me, I'm plenty pissed.

 

need to use a server script, such as php, or asp... EACH page has to have a connection to the database established. using PHP, the easiest way is to create a db.php file, that connects to the SQL database, then just use include commands on every page that accesses the server.

id suggest going and getting a book on it, plenty of good ones for $20.. including lessons, code snippets, etc. id recommend one or another, but im not 100% on which SQL you are using MS SQL, mySQL, etc? and what format you are doing the page in ASP, PHP, etc.. many different options and configurations.

 

Pick up a BEGINNERS guide to PHP that touches on MySQL assuming its a MySQL db and your server has PHP scripting installed. That should be enough information to get you going but not going over your head. Anything more detailed that beginner books is a waste of money IMOP...the rest you can google once you know what you are doing. I have a book somewhere that was perfect for teaching someone basic programming w/ PHP and MySQL. Lots of pictures and examples. I'll try and find it tonight...

 

Ok, I've gotten my instructor to compromise (sorta). He said he fooled around with Microsoft Access and found a way to link an Access database to a webpage and update it through the webpage. As usual, he's left it up to me to figure it out how.

So, with my time running short and my knowledge of Access very limited, I'm throwing myself at the mercy of the Yotatech computer gods! Spare some knowledge if you can.

 

I've found in Access where I can create a page that's linked to the database, but I've gotta figure out how to make it work like an online store, to the point where I can "record an order from a customer in the database".

 

mySQL has more documents about php, perl and whatever else ...

but its mySQL not m$sql.

http://dev.mysql.com/

 

you can make life easier for you by using an abstraction layer between your code and the database.

in PHP, there are ADODB, pear, and a few others.

why dont you describe your server side environtment, ASP, php, perl, etc...

if your professor doesnt care how it's done, may i recommend the AMP triad

a= apache
m=mysql
p=php

amp can run under a windows machine with no problems. can run under *nix too.

with that trio, you can... welll... heck write the app that yotatech runs on...

 

Due to time constraints, I've decided to go with what I already know... perl and PHP. It's gonna be sloppy, but it'll work.