Need Recommendations - XML to PHP with Search

[Nox]

Hi all, I will outline the project I have and the resources and skills that I have and hope that you all can give me some recommendations on the best way to accomplish it.

I am going to be doing a full redesign of a terribly old site done in Frontpage with an old cranky asp database. The new site will be done with fully compliant xhtml & css.

The old asp database which is basically a member list, needs to be redone for the new site .. tons of options as to how to do this I know (believe me I know) yet I cannot decide which is the best choice for me.

Here is what I have to work with. They have specialized software that will export fully customizable reports to a variety of formats including xml. I hope to work with xml due to its flexible and open nature. I know how to create simple xml, xsl to deliver information to xhtml pages but I really need to be able to have a member listing and search that can display the data by name or category at the very least.

From what I gather from what I have read, this is basically parsing the xml via a php form to deliver an on the fly php page which delivers the results.

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Edit:

I have just read the following:
On the minus side, it (xml) lacks many of the things found in real databases: efficient storage, indexes, security, transactions and data integrity, multi-user access, triggers, queries across multiple documents, and so on.

So it now looks like while I might still export the data to xml, I should still convert it into a proper database format such as MySQL. This only answers one of many questions, I still need some expert guidance as to how best to achieve my final results.

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Now I am not a programmer and have limited abilities in this area. I hand code all of my html and css and can also hand code the xml and simple xsl but when I face hand coding php or javascript from scratch by hand, my brain shuts off. I know I can purchase application development software but most are too expensive and I still have no idea if that is the right way to go. There are sometimes wayyyyyyyy to many choices out there.

I want to make the right choice not only for myself sanity wise but for the client's pocketbook. They are a non-profit and most of what we are doing is in trade or donated.

I would greatly appreciate any advice you can give me.

[Bucker]

Author,

I'm no expert either....but I did just finish a class on php combined with mysql that sounds like it would be perfect for your site. The mysql database can be downloaded into your server, and tied right into to your php code on your html tmplate. As I'm sure you know...php and mysql are both free downloads, and there are a ton of sites out there that will help you with the code to get the job done.

[safetystu]

Perhaps I'm not qualified to give definite advice but you can have my thoughts!

I have built a dynamic e-commerce site, learning enough PHP/MySQL as I went along. It took ages because of the learning curve!
http://www.wargames-figures.com

Now I'm about to create an entirely different type of site - an information/services/membership type of site. I have decided to go down the route of using a Content Management System and having had a look around I have decided to have a serious go using TYPO3. This is open source and has a lot of documentation and extensions etc. Like any complex system, there is a learning curve but there is only one easy way to acomplish your task - pay someone else to do it!

From what I have seen so far, this seems to be a very mature and solid system and I suggest you take a look at the 2 sites (and the various showcase sites built with it).

http://www.typo3.com/
http://typo3.org/about/

As to the question about xml, I'm sure it could do that but I would have no idea of how to go about it - maybe there is already an extension you could use.

Hope this helps!

[safetystu]

Perhaps I'm not qualified to give definite advice but you can have my thoughts!

I have built a dynamic e-commerce site, learning enough PHP/MySQL as I went along. It took ages because of the learning curve!
http://www.wargames-figures.com

Now I'm about to create an entirely different type of site - an information/services/membership type of site. I have decided to go down the route of using a Content Management System and having had a look around I have decided to have a serious go using TYPO3. This is open source and has a lot of documentation and extensions etc. Like any complex system, there is a learning curve but there is only one easy way to acomplish your task - pay someone else to do it!

From what I have seen so far, this seems to be a very mature and solid system and I suggest you take a look at the 2 sites (and the various showcase sites built with it).

http://www.typo3.com/
http://typo3.org/about/

As to the question about xml, I'm sure it could do that but I would have no idea of how to go about it - maybe there is already an extension you could use.

Hope this helps!

[mktgbill]

Maybe I don't understand what you're trying to accomplish but I don't see that XML needs to be involved. I'm no expert either but having revamped a website using PHP/MySQL about 18 months ago (www.italintl.com) it's not too difficult and maybe easier for you than for me considering you've dealt with ASP.

If you can export your database into a CSV document MySQL will allow you to import pretty easily especially with something like PHPMyAdmin as your database interface. A good host I've used that offers all this stuff in a basic but extensive (and very inexpensive) package is www.ace-host.net. I found starting with a good host that lays all this out in a very easy to use manner has really helped me in terms of learing what I need to know without being overwhelmed.

Hope this helps. Let me know if I can be of help in any way.

mktgbill

[jamhits]

Hi Nox,
I have just started learning php with a MySQL database as well. I have just started building a dynamic website for a business although they don't want an xml export.
All the pages data is pulled up from the database which i wrote my own administration section for. I even have a table for the site settings (eg: colours, background pics., etc.)
With the xml export you could run a database query which will pull the data out of the database then run a loop though the records and for each row you could append to the xml file.

// connect to the mysql database server.
mysql_connect ($dbhost, $dbusername, $dbuserpass);
//select the database
mysql_select_db($dbname) or die('Cannot select database');
//Select the data
$query = "SELECT * FROM pages";
//Run the query
$result = mysql_query($query) or die(mysql_error());

//Open file but for appending
$openfile = @fopen($file,"a");
//Write the xml headers
@fwrite($openfile, '<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1" ?> ');
//Loop through the results and output the data
while($row = mysql_fetch_array($result))
{
//For each coloumn in each row write the data out
//Following will only write ONE row of data
@fwrite($openfile, "<pagename>".$row['pagename']."</pagename>");
//etc.
}
//Write the footers (if any)
@fwrite($openfile, "");
//Close the file
fclose ($openfile);

Of course I have left out any error checking but this is the general idea. Let me know if you want any more help.

[newmarket]

I don't know a great deal about xml and have a basic understanding of mySQL, but I'm that you could do an export of data from mySQL to XML. At the very least, I would imagine that there is a php script floating around somewhere.

[jamhits]

Without meaning to be rude to newmarket but the script above I wrote should be able to export the data in the MySQL database to a xml file*. If you want more help please ask as I can fix it up or customize it for you.
Jamhits
*(This script hasn't been tested and needs variables to be entered before it will work)*