A new user to php.

[jolicious]

Hi everyone, I'm a new user to PHP. I'm learning how to use Dreamweaver, PHP and MS SQL for my final year project. However, there is a problem with MS SQL as my laptop is using XP home edition thus it is unable to install IIS. So currently
I'm using Apache for my web server. I am unfamiliar with Apache and my supervisor has not touched apache for almost 6 years thus he is unable to guide
me with it. I understand that you need to install Apache before PHP for it to work properly. However before installing Apache, I've already installed dreamweaver. Will any problem occur if I do this ? Also are there additional steps need to allow dreamweaver to work properly with apache ? I'm new to this thus I don't really understand much of the lingo for PHP and Dreamweaver. So please bear with my questions thank you.

[tech_support]

Try xampp if you want everything in one without having to install everything seperately and configuring.

[jolicious]

Thanks for the link. However I'll need to change from Apache to IIS as my school project requires it. Will any complications arise from switching over ?

[tech_support]

There shouldn't be, unless you're developing/coding scripts specific to Apache or IIS.

[jolicious]

Thanks for the reply. Is there any websites you can suggest for learning how to use php and apache as I want to know how to connect to the apache database. I've search the net for information and they give me information on how to connect to mySQL database only.

[thetestingsite]

Apache is not a database server, but instead a web server. This is why you are not getting any results when searching.

Edit: Just found that the apache group has a database project; but php does not have a built-in way of connecting to it. You could probably use odbc_connect for it though.

[jolicious]

Oh. Sorry I'm alittle new here so I'm learning as I go. Does MS SQL works with dreamweaver or am I stuck with MySQL? If MS SQL does work on dreamweaver, does it work without IIS as my laptop can't install it. Thank you for helping me out with those questions.

[kuau]

I am a newbie too but this is what I know about it.

Dreamweaver is the editor software you use on your local computer to create and edit the html and php files that may or may not interact with data in a MySQL database located on a web server running on Apache.

Dreamweaver can also be used to edit asp files that may or may not interact with data in a MS SQL database running on a Windows server using IIS.

They are 2 different environments and as far as I know are incompatible. You would choose one or the other.

[jolicious]

Alittle complicated but I think I understand. Anyway Thanks for everything. If anything pops up, I'll post again.

[jolicious]

Hi, sorry to disturb all of you again. There is a function I would like to create that checks the text in the form and ensure that the text are appropriate for the corresponding information. For example, when a user fills out the information asking for your telephone number and the user types in a letter, the function would detect it and will not submit the file and display an error next to the textbox with the wrong information. Is it easier to start out with the filter function or do I need to use other functions?