Forum Moderators: coopster
I'm just starting to get into the Web Development world. I know quite a bit, but when it comes to PHP, I'm clueless. I bought a book, that will hopefully help me understand a little bit better. But here is my question.
I signed up for FindWhat.com affiliate program. It allows me to put a search box on my website, and search results will pull from their site. However, they sent me this, and I'm not sure what to do now.
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The following URL is the XML interface for the return of result sets, including your Affiliate Id number.
[us01.xmlsearch.findwhat.com...]
This URL will return raw XML data that will need to be parsed on your end and displayed in the format of your choice.
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Can you guys help me out at all, or atleast steer me in a direction where to start? I really appreciate it guys. Like I said, I'm completely clueless to XML, and PHP, but I can catch on pretty quick. I just need some direction. THanks guys!
Joel
Well, you're about to take on 2 distinctly different worlds: XML and PHP. XML is a mark-up language like HTML - only much different. XML is raw data and the elements (via DTD or Schema) are defined by the author. PHP, as you know, is a scripting language.
So. What they've given you is access to the raw XML data. What you need to know is what elements are they going to send you and what they're used for. i.e. <title>My Book Title</title><author>Me</author> etc...
You'll use PHP to parse through the data they send you and convert it into HTML. i.e.
<title>My Book Title</title> -->> <h2>My Book Title</h2>
You can find some good starting out tutorials here [xml.com].