can u help me pls.?

about my software project in school..

[alvn047]

i really have a big problem about my software project in school.. i have to develop an "online dvd sales & rental" system(using php/mysql,apache2). our adviser/teacher told me that it should be "intelligent" enough and has several features..

not the ones like netflix.com or dvdexclusive.com,etc..
they're too great & complex. what i want is just a simple online dvd sales & rental system..

i've been searching in planetsourcecode.com for downloads but i didnt find any..

how could i make it?

how could i imitate some of the funcionalities of websites similar with my project?

hope u'll help me out..

[dreamcatcher]

Why not download and install osCommerce? Add your products, done. Oh and alvyn047, welcome to Webmaster World. Try and keep your posts together ok?

dc

[LeChuck]

How about starting your project and asking here when you run into problems? The point of doing this project must be to learn php better, no?

[jatar_k]

Welcome to WebmasterWorld alvn047,

well I won't tell you how to do it as I am not a big do my homework type

but

sit down with a pen and paper and start profiling what you need, brainstorm, list all the features you are supposed to have, list what you need to be able to do.

2 main goals I see

sell dvds
rent dvds

each should have it's own inventory, I am guessing these inventories shouldn't overlap but should be maintained individually even though they may have the same titles.

selling dvds is fairly simple, sell one, inventory is reduced by 1 until another order arrives

renting is a little more complex as you need to follow returns and what is rented.

this brings another facet

you will need to have users

so we need to know something about (and this is me just making stuff up off the top of my head)

dvds
users
fees

these dvds might also need to be organized into categories

you see what I mean? you know what features you need so you know way more about this than me but do you see how just sitting down and writing this out works. One thing makes you think of the next thing.

once you work your way through then you can start seeing what tables you need in your database and possibly what supporting tables you might need (data modeling).

this can take a while and will help a ton when it comes time to start typing your first line of code.

why go get source code, you can map it all out and then start from there.

[alvn047]

i already have dowloaded EasyPHP. what else do i need?

<removed>

I like to imitate this for my GUI design:

But I'll prefer to modify it & exclude some of its features to make it simplier..
It wont have credit card & billing/shipping of items because im not making it for real. its just for my project/thesis in school. I can't graduate without it..
If i fail, i have to take it again next semester. its so tiresome.. I wish you can help me out..

Actually,i'm having trouble with my project because the deadline is getting closer. Jan.21 will be our first increment and I have started brainstorming just now. I have already made its system flowchart My biggest problem is the coding.. though we several resources(mostly e-books)

what tables do i need for my database?

[edited by: jatar_k at 6:35 am (utc) on Dec. 30, 2005]
[edit reason] no urls thanks [/edit]

[LeChuck]

You could have learned php since you first posted this on dec 3. I don't think anyone wants do your project for you.

It's like getting an electrical engineering degree by having an electrical engineer do all your papers and go to your exams for you. Then when you're done and get a job you have no idea what to do.

[edited by: jatar_k at 3:29 pm (utc) on Dec. 30, 2005]

[jatar_k]

well, the flowchart should give you an idea of the tables you may need and I gave you a basic layout in my previous post.

What have you got for tables so far?

[alvn047]

as of now, i've got:

user info(1stname,lastname,gender,age,address,status,contact no.,email address & password)

dvd info(title,genre,rental_price,purchase_price,rating)

customers must sign up first to become a member before they can rent dvds. They'll need email address & password for log in.

dvds are separated into 10 genres:
action
animation
comedy
horror
music(ex. Green Day,Simple Plan,Black Eyed Peas,etc. for the title)
religion(ex. The passion of the Christ,etc.)
romance
sci-fi
sports(ex. Coach Carter,Wimbledon,etc.)
thrillers

dvds are priced at $5 for rental and $20 for purchase.

what else do i need for my database?

[edited by: coopster at 3:22 pm (utc) on Jan. 2, 2006]
[edit reason] removed url per TOS [webmasterworld.com] [/edit]

[whoisgregg]

How are the rest of the students in your class approaching the problem?

[alvn047]

i dont really know.. we have different projects. Computer Science students have to develop games using c++ & java while we, IT students have to create a certain system.
Majority of us had grouped ourselves into 3 or 2.. The rest preferred to take it alone.

[jatar_k]

those tables seem fine, you will also need something to track rentals and sales. The monetary part of it as well as to monitor your inventory.

[alvn047]

yeah.. thanks! i'll have to figure it out.