He really aught to fight this. $10 is an insult. Even $1000 is nothing to that company. He could really give Microsoft bad publicity if he tried. Seeing this as a risk, only then would Microsoft come in and give some money for his troubles. I still can't believe... $10.... *sigh*
What do you mean by "catching an action"? Is "action" a URL variable passed to a script? Do you want to reload/refresh the page according to an integer value of a URL variable?
How could you have missed Oracle?! :p Sure I'd like to help, but ODBC and Access are not database servers. Access is just a database file and ODBC is an API to a database. If you want a list of databases, visit: http://dmoz.org/Computers/Software/Databases/
Here's a list of what I think are mainstream databases:
Sams Teach Yourself Active Server Pages in 24 Hours by Christoph Wille, Christian Koller
Worth it for its price, but prepare to work - If you buy this book, then be prepared to work. If you're new to the whole programming field, or maybe just web programming, don't think the knowledge will be served to you on a silver platter. People's expectations about this book are too high. The introduction to VBScript (which ASP supports) is well put together. It's not excellent, but it's good. As the book progresses, it covers all the essentials of ASP: setting up PWS, IIS, setting up SQL server or Access to work correctly with ASP, databases, cookies, files, and all the essential ASP objects. The examples were also useful, e.g. sending mail through the SMTP server, creating cookies, working with files... these are all good examples that can be modified and copy-and-pasted on any of your creations. It even contains tips on how to create a shopping cart and implementing XML. Now, this book is not intended as a bible. As with any method for learning, you're going to have to access external resources: the web, people, etc. This will make the learning experience more enjoyable. The reasons why I didn't give it five stars was because, the person who knows some programming has an EXTREME advantage over the one who doesn't. But then again, if you're not experienced, it just takes time. Another thing I didn't like was the way the examples …
PHP and MySQL Web Development by Luke Welling, Laura Thomson
Extremely useful - This is a very useful book. If you're a web developer, and you're starting out with PHP, it will do wonders. It covers many important things such as creating a successful shopping cart, web based e-mail, web forums, and working with files such as PDF and images. What I enjoy most about this book is that it teaches you PHP and MySQL in a very coherent manner. In the beginning, it has a thorough introduction to PHP and its list of functions and it even covers PHP classes. It does this in a clean and understandable manner that is easy to follow. The chapters on MySQL and databases are also well put together. It covers the theory and implementation rather well using real world examples. Overall, it's an excellent book. If you're already a programmer, you'll fly through the chapters without any hassle.
Core PHP Programming: Using PHP to Build Dynamic Web Sites by Leon Atkinson
More of a reference book ... and a mediocre one - Don't expect to learn much from this book. The tutorial is mediocre and so is the reference. This book could've fit in about 100 pages or so as it seems the font spacing was raised too high. There's a lot of wasted space on the paper... but the cover is really neat...
ColdFusion 5 Web Application Construction Kit by Ben Forta
This is probably the best ColdFusion book (for version 5, not MX) you can get right now. Goes over the very basics of web programming - all the technical stuff served to you on a silver platter. They did a really good job on showing you examples and giving detailed descriptions on how everything works. I liked how they showed you real world examples of applications and many other things you can integrate in your web apps such as Flash, Graphing, and Text Searching using Verity. It gives basics of creating a shopping cart also.
Aside from giving you a strong foundation of CFML basics (and functions), it gives you a foundation in databases and SQL. The fun doesn't stop there as it also provides tips on better ColdFusion Server configuration, data persistence, generating Excel documents and an intro on Wireless programming - all with explanations, side notes, and screenshots of what's going on. This book is definitely a great one.
What I didn't like about the book was how they purposely left out other juicy basics such as creating user defined functions and more in depth info XML/WDDX. I think these were basic enough to be put in here, but I guess it makes you want to get the other book. However, it's definitely a good buy.
I have gone through several Perl tutorials in the past, and I have to admit that this is the best one I've seen, especially if you already know how to program. I came from a C++ world, so it was relatively easy to pickup. The syntax was easy to pick up and also concepts such as hashes and lists. The tone Simon uses is very social, so it keeps you awake and interested. I also enjoyed the large amount of examples.
I think, without a doubt, the first half of the book was good - the basics (syntax, logic, scalars, arrays, hashes, basic functions, and files). The second half may seem a little weaker to many (OOP, Network Programming, CGI and databases)- but that's just because it's way too much for the book to handle. This just encourages you to continue to learn on your own. I'm glad he did mention it though. He provides code and gives you the very basic of these.
Overall this is a very good book. I agree with many that it has some errors throughout the book, but not too many (you can check the Wrox website for errata). No book is perfect. This book, however, is better than a lot of other tutorials out there that just seem to copy and paste the boring Perl documentation. If you're a beginner to Perl and have a programming background, I recommend it. If you're a …
A Programmer's Introduction to PHP 4.0 by W. J. Gilmore
Not a bad book - Overall, this was not a bad book. I was breezing through the chapters since I already knew C++... and I have to say he did a good job on showing how to set up PHP with Apache. This book also serves as an excellent reference- it shows you several important functions of PHP, as well as an explanation of the usage.
The only thing I wish Gilmore had done was explain on how to set up mySQL with Apache. He did a good job explaining how to set up PHP with Apache, but why not show how to set up PHP/Apache with mySQL? It would've been nice if it had been included, but I didn't mind looking it up. (He makes up for it by showing in a clear manner how to integrate mySQL with PHP.) Other than that, the content of this book and its explanations are quite good.
Sams Teach Yourself E-Commerce Programming with ASP in 21 Days by Stephen Walther, et al
Very useful - I found this book extremely useful for beginning e-commerce. If you have no idea where to start when tackling an e-commerce project, I highly recommend this book. The ideas it provides along with the methods are essential for any project. The book covers essentials such as working with files, creating the shopping cart, working with credit cards, security, using wallets, and even how to set up an SSL connection. The information in this book is without a doubt vital for beginners. I have to say that this is not the best ASP e-commerce programming book in the world, but it will teach you the basics in a clear and quick manner. The examples are real world examples and can be implemented in a basic e-commerce site. (Don't expect to re-create amazon.com through this book.) The reason I give 4 stars to this book is that not all the files for the examples are on the CD. Also, the URL that is listed to see the site online does not exist. Other than that, it's a very useful book.
Essential Coldfusion 4.5 For Web Professionals by Micah Brown, Mike Fredrick
Good book if you know Coldfusion - This book serves more as a reference for Coldfusion instead of a true tutorial. This book however is extremely useful as it provides real world examples and snips of code that can be used in projects. It is possible to learn Coldfusion through this book, but I recommend another book to really learn the ins and outs of Coldfusion.
Macromedia Coldfusion 5 Language Reference by Ben Forta
Useful but could use better examples - While this reference contains all the functions/tags/variables/etc. used in ColdFusion, the book could use better/innovative examples. At first glance, I was surprised at the size of the book. How can someone fit so much in such a small book? Then I decided to browse through it and noticed that examples were the size of a bacteria, especially for those on functions. I would've loved if the book had better and more innovative examples, rather than the way it's currently presented. However, the book is still VERY useful for a quick reference. It's a good price too. I recommend it.
The only thing I don't like about OOP is the time it takes in creating classes. To me, it's just tedious work but I know it pays off in the long run. For a while I was used to the procedural methodology from my Pascal days.
Ever try OOP in Perl? It's a train wreck... in my opinion anyways. ;)
I actually think C++ books are easier to understand than C books. I think you should start off with C++. It's more mainstream and more people know it. For the most part, they're pretty much the same until you get to do more advanced stuff. I suggest you pick up that book by Jesse Liberty, as I think it's the best book for beginners.
I agree with cscgal about the hijacking of threads. It's a waste.
)BIG"B"Affleck, I can see your passion when it comes to debating and letting others know what you think but, like you said, you should:
Bash or praise whatever you like, but for god's sake do it intelligently.
When you make a comment about people being losers, you're insulting a lot of people who are still using Windows ME. So what, they're not as computer saavy as you or others here, but in fact could be more intelligent in other areas. I saw that you explained yourself why but people aren't always going to understand what you mean.
Also, when I don't agree with someone, I don't say their opinions are pathetic, and go off like:
Who are you, and what kind of flawed logic is this anyway? That's the best line I have heard in some time dude! So you would rather shut down a thread than have an intellectual debate? Wow, fascists around the globe would be quite proud.
Just giving you advice. I'd like for TTF to be a professional and enjoying experience. Comments like that will gain you no respect, might get the posts locked, and you might even get banned.
Let me just make this clear. I'm up for validation, but as a last step. Also that doesn't mean that one should be careless when creating the HTML/XHTML design. One should do proper nesting, proper tag usage, and follow W3C standards as much as possible, but not get overwhelmed over just validation.
All sites should and can pass validation with a few tweaks. It's a highly useful tool that means your site will dispaly correctly on a wealth of browsers. The default style of most forum software is written to pass validation.
I agree with the word should. There are other things that also SHOULD be. Software should be free. Software should not have bugs. Software should be super optimized. Why isn't this always the case? Green little pieces of paper?
I know what you mean. But from a business perspective, sometimes this can't happen. Time is money, and validating and making sure everything is too perfect adds another layer of time to your project. This can be a tedious task when working with complex web sites and just can't happen.
As for the Alien-thingy,hey come on we are the greatest creation of God isn't that a lame idea - though a bit realistic - to expect Aliens to throw bombs at us without any investigation ?
I think there's higher odds of us getting bombed by aliens than me having the power to teleport all of a sudden.
Touchy touchy....now now lighten up a little biggy! Do what?, I saw some good constructive /educational debating comming on. But I will respect your authority in the matter. Atleast let us continue it in here....................It is the geek's lounge!
I see no problem debating over a topic that's IT related, even though I've debated over it a million times. I don't mind getting involved if I'm in the mood for it. This is "techtalk" so it fits here nicely, and especially in the Geek's Lounge. It's up to one to get involved in a debate.
What I can't stand is the name calling. Something like:
(side note) If your using M E your a loser.
Just turns me, and I'm sure others, off. I don't waste my time with people that insult or make judgments like that. Also demeaning a company by referring to them as "M$" tends to actually demean the person saying it as an IT professional. I don't know if it was a slipup on your part, or if you're really like that, but to me, that's just trolling. If you're going to get into a debate where you know the answer and all you do is insult, then to me it's trolling. Sort of like Slashdot. I can come up with a million stereotypes for Linux users and reasons why not to use anything …
I hate to say, but in my experience, it seems that only programmers, who rarely have graphic abilities, are interested in validation. I should know, I'm a programmer. Then again, I'm a graphic designer too. ;)
Dani, I think your web site is fine. There's not at least ONE COOL LOOKING web site that's feature rich that can pass any sort of validation. Web sites that pass validation are web sites like http://www.useit.com/ or http://www.w3.org - but they're boring, ugly, and have no where near the functionality that a site like this has.
Every successful site that I've seen has used general keywords one time or another. In the long run, I don't recommend you ignoring generalized keywords.
Do you mean forum? I don't know what a furom is. :cool: If it's a forum, then do you want to create one from scratch or use premade ones? Let me know. Both require a little know how, but setting up a premade one is easier.
The best way is to do it with a GIF editor. You would need two frames. One with a "|" graphic and one without one. If you don't want a graphic, you could try something like this, but the only flaw is when the user clicks somewhere else, they would need to click back on this "invisible input box" to see the blinking cursor. This is the simplest way to do it. It's better to go with an animated GIF.
<html>
<head>
<script language="JavaScript">
function setFocus() {
document.someform.blinkcursor.focus();
}
</script>
<style>
input.cursor {
/* makes the inputbox borders disappear */
border:none;
}
</style>
</head>
<body onLoad="setFocus()">
<form name="someform">
The following is a blinking cursor <input type="text" class="cursor" size="1" maxlength="0" name="blinkcursor">
</form>
</body>
</html>
I haven't seen a successful web site without them, so I highly recommend them. As long as you don't have a megabyte of pure metatags it should be ok. Company sometimes abuse the heck out of them and spiders don't even bother to crawl them because they see the abuse.
Google spiders web sites periodically, so you don't have to worry about resubmitting. That goes with other search engines as well. If you want to check out cached versions of your site or any other site for that matter, you can check out: http://www.waybackmachine.org/ - it's interesting. You can see what Macromedia's web site looked like in 1996: http://web.archive.org/web/19961022175211/http://www.macromedia.com/
