software suggestion

what should i use?

[sonic]

hello everybody! i'm all new to this so please bare with me.

i want to build a website for a furniture company. the products will be often updated so i can't really build a new html page for every product. i suppose i should build a database from where all the data will be passed directly to the webpage, and of course update the database for every new product.

the relative software i am familiar with is html and access. could using access be the solution? is asp the appropriate tool?
which do you think is the most suitable and at the same time easier way to go about it?

any suggestions will be highly appreciated!

[Iguana]

Do the products have to be updated in real time. One really easy option is to build the pages as static HTML from a database (access is perfect as a database - I use VB to build the pages but you can even do that in Access modules) and then upload using FTP.

It saves on all the problems of database-driven websites (mySQL I think only allows 256 connections on the windows versions - SQLServer is expensive to licence) and means you can get very cheap hosting on a Linux machine with no extras installed - rather than running PHP, ASP, JSP or the like that will cost you in performance terms and in money.

<edit>I just noticed your post count - welcome to WebmasterWorld!
</edit

[sonic]

thanks for the answer iguana, that was exactly what i was hoping i would hear. i've already tried it and seems that everything is working fine!

yes, the products will have to be updated in real time, and i think i figured out how to do that as well.

actually in which case would you prefer to use asp or php? are there any important advantages/features i might need in the future?

thanks again!

[bilalak]

I suggest PHP + mySQL

PHP has great features over ASP specially:
-Database API
-string manipulation
-Reg Expression
-more stability
-larger data moemory

mySQL:
-mych faster than access
-Full Text search
-Larger tables
-Larger records

They are well integrated

Linux server are cheaper on the net and more secure and better for e-commerce

[Iguana]

Both PHP and ASP are good

ASP has as good a set of feature as PHP (including regular expressions, bilalak - but lets not get into a Linux v Windows discussion).

The big advantage of ASP is if you have VB/Access programming skills and/or VB Access already on your PC.
Most of the cost of developing a website is the number of hours work involved - you can buy an awful lot of hosting for the months involved in becoming proficient in a new programming language/environment. But if you have PHP already then Linux hosting is much better in terms of price/performance.

[bilalak]

Reg Ex in VB in general is not as powerful. Just try some examples.

[griz_fan]

As someone who knows a lot of HTML but is just beginning to learn the backend stuff, I'd recomend PHP/MySQL. I actually use both ASP and PHP and both have a LOT going for them. But, for a beginner, chances are you won't want to code your project from the ground up. Head over to HotScripts.com and dig into both the PHP and ASP scripts sections. When you compare the number (and, IMHO, the quality) of PHP scripts to the number of ASP scripts, you'll see why I recomend PHP. But, investigate both options, try different scripts and see which ones best fit your needs. I'd hold off on the whole ASP vs. PHP decision until you've ivestigated the free script option first.
Another factor to consider is database support. While ASP and PHP can work with a variety of databases, PHP is readily available with MySQL, while ASP generally comes with Access or MS SQL in hosting packages. MS SQL adds to your costs, and Access really isn't well suited to run a website. MySQL is free and a very robust database.

[madcat]

build the pages as static HTML from a database (access is perfect as a database - I use VB to build the pages but you can even do that in Access modules) and then upload using FTP.
It saves on all the problems of database-driven websites (mySQL I think only allows 256 connections on the windows versions

Is that true. I never here about your solution being used to build databases. Although I don't hear much in the way of builing them. Can you tell me why you prefer this method?

[bilalak]

Access is perfect for a database?

I think not and you can try it for around 1,00,000 record with around 2 KB for each record and try to run a global query.

mySQL is far better than Access but not as friendly as Access of course specially for beginners. Though, much more reliable on the web, much more secure, much much faster.

[Iguana]

bilalak
Check what I said

build the pages as static HTML from a database (access is perfect as a database

To repeat - Access is perfect as a database for building static HTML pages.

[bilalak]

Ok I agree with you even your writing was not clear.

Though, Access exports html components as activeX. this make the file larger, vague and rarely good PR

[Ryan8720]

If it is just a small-time furniture company, then Access and ASP will work fine. But if the database is expected to grow to thousands and thousands of entries, then you will run into major problems. I would also recommend PHP and MySQL. It's faster and has bigger capacity, and it is cross-platform.