I have a question. Lets say I want to make a database that is search able. I don’t really want to get much into exactly but how would someone get started?
Well… if you are talking about makin a website that is searchable then you are talking LAMP (Linux, Apache, Mysql and PHP).
Linux – This is the operating system that your server will be running
Apache – This is the webserver that runs and serves the pages to your users.
Mysql - This is the database that will store and report your information contained.
PHP- This is the programing language which will tie it all together.
So you really have 2 options here. Hire a good LAMP programmer or learn it yourself.
If you are going to hire out a programmer be prepared to pay a lot of money. I have paid 40-120$ a hour for development. Its REALLY hard to find a well rounded programmer and when you do they get pretty good money.
If you are going to do it yourself I would recommend buying just about every book possible
on lamp programing and start on your project. You do not have to be a master or even close to get started. I learn more by trial and error then I do from actually reading but I have them all as a reference.
Good Luck!
Each Monday I am going to try to take some questions asked to me in email and here on the blog and answer them. I call the answer part the “Shoemoney answer� mainly because I do not know if its right or wrong but its what I think based on my experience so far.
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July 9, 2007 at 11:03 pm
Hello
Very interesting information! Thanks!
G’night
April 9, 2007 at 3:19 pm
I offer some security topics when it comes to these things =D
February 24, 2007 at 11:42 am
You can also develop under Windows with Apache, PHP, and MySQL.
Take a look at the Web-Developer Server Suite.
January 31, 2007 at 10:37 am
If you can program in Java, Lucene is an excellent open source search engine library. It’s very flexible and scales well for big sites, as well as works really well for small sites.
January 30, 2007 at 7:23 am
Funny you posted this Shoe because it was your previous posts that inspired be to learn about everything you posted about above. I used to spend hundreds of dollars every month on freelancer sites when now I spend less than $50. Programming and design was never my thing but I think its important to have basic skills.
January 30, 2007 at 2:26 am
Well Shoe. I think it’s a good idea to write some tips.. you are good teacher
I’m using LAMP since summer 2006 and I’m still learning it.. I would like to read some tips made by someone I feel familiar with.
January 29, 2007 at 5:03 pm
I needed the same thing developed (I have no programming experience). I went to http://www.scriptlance.com and posted a project. The tough part about this is that you go through a lot or programmers before you find one that is responsible and good. I finally found one to build me my site http://www.recipematcher.com It is a pretty complicated database and i am very happy with my programmer.
Mike
January 29, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Besides LAMP you could also have a look at Ruby on Rails or Django.
Both of those framework should be easier to setup (not to mention that they have very good tutorials with video).
Just do a google on those two…
January 29, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Looking forward to the weekly write ups. Maybe you can share of your secrets that have worked for you in the past.
January 29, 2007 at 3:07 pm
because mysql has mindshare
January 29, 2007 at 3:02 pm
I didn’t hear him say it was the only option
LAMP can be extremely n00b friendly, is free, and is widely supported on the web and irc.
January 29, 2007 at 2:39 pm
You can get the free excerpt from SitePoint for its PHP/MySQL book (it is the 1st 4 chapters for free). This does a good job of explaining how to install both PHP and MySQL as well as explaining how they tie together.
January 29, 2007 at 2:09 pm
Oh yeah! I’m married to the whole Express package from Microsoft. Such a great suite of programs…plus works with its own locally contained webserver. dig it…feel free to email me if you have any questions about it.
January 29, 2007 at 1:59 pm
Why do people not consider LAPP or why do people stick so much to MySQL rather than PostgreSQL?
January 29, 2007 at 1:10 pm
I keep getting errors with my MySQL software. Is there a good tutorial to explain how it all ties into php?
January 29, 2007 at 3:32 am
Shoe, you should of all know that LAMP is just one out of many options to build a searchable dynamic website. In fact, just about any OS/DB/Script enviroment that I have worked with can be made as searchable as you want.
The majority of clients I have at the moment are on .NET. No problem at all (OK, a little more work, but definately not a problem!). I also do a lot of sites on Windows/Apache/MySQL/PHP and some on Windows/IIS/MySQL/PHP or Windows/IIS/MSSQL/PHP and Windows/IIS/MSSQL/ASP
Basically, whatever setup you chose really have very little impact on how searchable your website turns out. All it takes is knowledge about the limitations of searchengines combined with good skills in the enviroment you are working.
In my many years working with optimizing dynamic websites I have only found very few that was close to impossible to deal with (such as Broadvision , before the cookie-hack came out, and some Domino-apps)
January 28, 2007 at 11:24 pm
Doing it yourself is fun; just make sure you have the time to devote to your project. One thing I suggest is to read a few chapters of a PHP/MySQL book then outline your project. After that, start programming and teach yourself as you go along. Be sure to keep code samples for things you might do frequently in a text file for easy copy and pasting too.
As for your data architecture, if you want your content to be searchable plan and map out a single table for all of your content. This takes some thought and creativity up front, but when you get to writing those search queries you will be happy you did so.
January 28, 2007 at 10:55 pm
“Searchable” could mean anything. Throw up a static web site and configure ht://dig… No programming required. It even works on dynamic pages, presents a far better interface, and probably has better performance than the full table scans that a beginner developer can knock out.
Sean
January 28, 2007 at 10:46 pm
My school started some programs based around LAMP.. it really is about time for class like this to start popping up.
January 28, 2007 at 9:46 pm
Hey, while on this topic, I was wondering if you’d maybe consider making a post about the most important things you’d recommend learning for beginners starting out w/dedicated servers. I’d be interested to hear any basic tips coming from you with a background as a systems admin. I feel kind of stupid knowing PHP/MySQL/xHTML/CSS/javascript/etc. but having little or no knowledge of what’s actually happening on the server.
Maybe it’s too off topic for this blog but if not I’d love to hear your recommendations.
January 28, 2007 at 9:43 pm
I noticed a lot of affiliate marketers, lean toward LAMP and other free tools. These can be tough to get a grip on for some. New programmers will most likely find .NET easier to begin with. For free, you can get Microsoft Visual Web Developer Express as well as Sql Server 2005 Express. They are free and very powerful. You can code much quicker with these tools than you can with PHP.
January 28, 2007 at 9:04 pm
http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html
XAMPP is a great tool to easily get started on LAMP development.
January 28, 2007 at 8:59 pm
In my experience learning the LAMP process on your own is key to the cliched process of thinking outside the box. You learn so much so quickly that you begin to find ways to use the LAMP components to further your “content generating” (slash: spamming) abilities.
January 28, 2007 at 8:54 pm
Well I guess if you wanna be a successful webmaster, you should learn at least the MP part of the LAMP… cookies, databases (Data mining, warehouses) are a must to know in order to satisfy your visitors/clients…
there are plenty of free php/mysql ebook u can find, and I would recommend u install any CMS (MediaWiki, Joomla, Wordpress…) and try editing it, this way you’ll learn syntax much faster!
Good luck
January 28, 2007 at 7:32 pm
Well LAMP is one option.
There are a lot of free search tools you can w/o paying anyone anything at http://www.hotscripts.com if you look.
January 28, 2007 at 7:02 pm
Waste of time! click on that RECs button and send Tom Fuller a message.