How to begin

[tweak_my]

Hi there,

I m very new to webhosting. I would like to host a forum website and offer a small exchange service on my website. How can I begin?

My fundamentals is only VB 6.0. What kinds of materials I should start first?

There is PHP and Perl? Which is the best? I would prefer something that can be integrated with VB as well.

[webjourneyman]

Since youre already knowledgable with visual basic you might wanīt to take a look at visual web developer thats available for free at microsofts.
From what I understand itīs kind of a Frontpage for database driven websites and .net functions. Itīs said very powerful although I havenīt figured it out yet. Iīve opted to start at the very basics, i.e. HTML and CSS and save database driven functions such as forums for later.

[vacorama]

everyone has their favorite scripting languages, and they're are many reasons for using each one. just about all can handle basic web stuff.. but open source languages like PHP, perl and python will always have a bunch of user support and info on the web.. I would definitely say php is more suitable for web stuff then perl is since it was built exactly with that intention and can be embedded directly in html pages with very little effort... Python is also very easy to use and very powerfull, but php is so popular you will always be able to get help. not to mention, has a very easy learning curve. oreilly's "Learning PHP" is a great book, teaches you a ton of useful info, and is primarily aimed at people whoe only know a little html...

[TechnoGeek]

Hello, tweak_my.
To implement a forum at your website means that you will have to make a good deal of server programming. If you are new in the trade, it can be a daunting task. Perhaps you will better off by using some of the ready-made solutions that exist so abundantly. Take a closer look at the forums that you know. Many of them have at the foot of the page the name of the software they use. Make a comparison and choose the one you like best.
Regards.