A Roadmap for Creating Dynamic Sites Via PHP and MySQL
Have you ever struggled to find a web-based application to meet a specific business need or a web-based feature to enhance your existing site? Every once in a while, you might get lucky and find one that fits your needs precisely. More often than not, though, you probably either give up or settle for a “less than adequate” solution and try to conform to its limitations… round hole, square peg.
It can be quite frustrating, I know. But, trust me, you are not alone. Most commercialized applications are developed to fulfill the needs of the “lowest common denominator” of users. If you have read this far, my guess is that this doesn’t quite describe you.
As an entrepreneur, visionary and competitor, you are looking for ways to work more efficiently, communicate more effectively and gain competitive advantages.
So...where does this leave you?
Why not consider a custom built web-based application? It’s not as crazy as it might seem. These days, to design and deploy a solution that is tailor made to your needs is no longer cost prohibitive…especially if you leverage the availability and abundance of readily available “Open Source” solutions.
Open source is a philosophy of software development and distribution that allows anyone to freely access the applications and to modify the program's source code. This allows for a high degree of customization, integration and utility. Also, since anyone in the world’s programming community can modify the source code, improvements and new features emerge continuously.
PHP and MySQL are two of the most strikingly successful applications born of the "Open Source" movement.
With the integration of PHP and MySQL you can collect data from your users, create dynamic content on the fly and do many other things that HTML can't achieve by itself.
What is PHP?
The name is a bit of a programming joke since it is based on a self-referential, recursive acronym. In other words, the first “P” in PHP stands for PHP. The fully expanded name is “PHP Hypertext Preprocessor”. Thus the acronym PHP results in a circular reference. Get it? Don’t worry, only a true geek would appreciate the irony and humor in this play on acronyms. Perhaps you might be familiar with another recursive acronym…“VISA”, which stands for Visa International Service Association. Anyway, I digress…
PHP is a server-side scripting language and interpreter that allows web developers to create sites that interact with users and databases. PHP is primarily used for developing dynamic web sites and web-based software applications.
PHP code is tightly integrated with HTML (the basic building block of web sites). When a PHP page is accessed, the PHP code is read and interpreted by the web server where the page is hosted. The resulting output is rendered to the end-users’ browser as standard HTML code. The end user is normally unaware that the page they are currently viewing was just created by a server. The entire process is virtually instantaneous so it remains transparent to the end user. This layer of transparency makes PHP pages secure enough to access databases and other secure information. Because PHP is executed on the server, the viewer never sees the code.
What is MySQL?
MySQL is the world's most popular open source database server technology. It is a true “Relational Database Management System” which means it stores data in separate tables rather than putting all the data in one big flat file. This adds flexibility, stability, reliability and speed in the processing of stored data. MySQL uses Structured Query Language (SQL), the most widely used language for adding, accessing and processing data in databases.
How do PHP and MySQL work together?
Although PHP and MySQL can each be used independently, their combination opens up a new world of dynamic possibilities for a web site. PHP and MySQL compliment each other to achieve what neither can do alone. PHP may be used to gather and process data. MySQL, in turn, is used to store the resulting data. PHP may be used to retrieve and perform complex computations on previously stored MySQL data, combine it with other data and then render the results to a user’s web browser in an easy to read and useful format.
As the Internet matures and web users become more sophisticated, it becomes increasingly important to deliver more dynamic content and to offer more interactivity to fulfill the “instant gratification” demands of today’s web users.
So, back to our original question…
Why not consider a custom built web-based application?
Most of today’s web servers come pre-installed with PHP and MySQL. If your site is currently hosted on a Linux server, you’re already ready to go. Your next step is to find a reputable developer who has a proven track record of structured design and Open Source integration.
Other PHP/MySQL Related Resouces:
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