[Shingi.Matambanadzo]

I have been using HTML raw for years and it while it has achieved a few things, I still feel wall-locked because of problems associated with usability and relevnt applicaiton.

Which the best:

HTML?
ASP?
PHP?
XML?

Please help

[socreative]

i think you're a bit lost here. You can't compare those. ASP and PHP are server side languages. Why don't you tell us what are you trying to achieve?

[craftygeek]

If you are looking to extend html - php & javascript are the normal ways to go about it....but they're both used for different purposes, so more information is required.

[Shingi.Matambanadzo]

Thanks for your reply

I am trying to build a news website. I have now been told that PHP is the best. I started my website which I built in HTML 2 years ago but it is now off the net because I could not maintain it (coding every day etc) and it was difficult to get different people logging in and updating simultaneously - at the same time.

I have recently been told that PHP and a MySQL database are the best for these purposes, and some have recommneded using open source such as WordPress, BUT the problem is that you are limited to what you can edit.

I thus want to create my own website in PHP from scratch.

Any ideas how I can quickly go about that?

[craftygeek]

Originally Posted by Shingi.Matambanadzo

I thus want to create my own website in PHP from scratch.

Any ideas how I can quickly go about that?

If you have no previous PHP experience AND want to build it from scratch...you won't do it quickly - there is a huge learning curve that you would have to go through.

Your best bet is to use a pre-made content management system (CMS), I'd suggest that you have a look at Joomla which is very flexible and has lots of addon extensions to make it do different things. This will have a much smaller associated learning curve that trying to build it from scratch.

Joomla

[djb]

Or try Drupal, which is the same kind of thing as Joomla but (in my opinion) a little friendlier.

This is a great website which lets you try out all kinds of open source stuff, Joomla & Drupal included:

http://www.opensourcecms.com/

[JohnRoss]

Originally Posted by Shingi.Matambanadzo

I am trying to build a news website.

A rich Internet application is not a particularly appropriate way to go for that. RIAs are for things like online gambling - you want a CMS, content-management system.

...I have recently been told that PHP and a MySQL database are the best for these purposes, and some have recommneded using open source such as WordPress, BUT the problem is that you are limited to what you can edit.

There are some pretty damn professional news sites based entirely on out-of-the-box WordPress modules, I don't think there is a lot in WordPress that you can't fiddle around with one way or another, and anyway you wouldn't be as limited as you would be by not knowing what you were doing. And as others have suggested, Joomla or Drupal are fine alternatives, too. All of them would give you the opportunity to pick up some programming skills while taking advantage of other people's tried and tested code.

I thus want to create my own website in PHP from scratch.

You'll have to learn PHP, then, which they say is straightforward enough if you are a programmer. In other words, if you aren't a programmer, the hard bit is not going to be learning the language but learning basic programming. It isn't comparable to HTML, it's a whole different dimension.

There is one route available to you which is a kind of compromise. Cake PHP (CakePHP: the rapid development php framework. Home) is not a CMS but a development framework which helps you to make your own applications, including, if you put your mind to it and invest an awful lot of hours, your own CMS. I really don't recommend it, but if you can't be dissuaded, I don't know a better option.

But stick to WordPress, instead.

[Logopro]

Originally Posted by JohnRoss

...But stick to WordPress, instead.

Nice post :) very helpful!

[JohnRoss]

Originally Posted by Logopro

Nice post :) very helpful!

Nice of you to say so, thank you.