Recommended method of creating Dynamic pages

[xjoffa]

I would like to create a dynamic website. I want to do it in the correct way, using Dreamweaver. Having started several tutorials on Adobe's (some admittedly in 'archive' folders which I didnt notice initially) - they all seem to be about using outdated insecure methods that require adding extensions to enable insecure behaviours.

I was initially going to use PHP and SQL. Are these still recommended technologies and it is simply the live refreshing in Dreamweaver that is insecure? I am happy to develop without that.

Can anybody point me at a good overview/tutorial for an experienced programmer new to dynamic website design?

[osgood_]

For dynamic websites you are going to want to use some kind of server-side interaction whether that be php, node, python etc - so Im not sure what you mean when you say 'I'am happy to develop without that' after suggesting you would like to create a dynamic website.

If you dont use some kind of server language (even if its just to process data which is then handed over to client-side rendering) then the website wont be hugely dynamic maybe a little bit of interactivity if you throw in some javascript.

As for php and mysql - yes its still relevant although you should be using mysqli (improved) as the mysql extension is now way outdated. The dynamic server behaviours in Dreamweaver were hidden as a consequence and never updated.

Maybe tell us more about this dynamic website you want to create - someone here will have further suggestions for you. 

[xjoffa]

Thanks for the response

It is the live refreshing in Dreamweaver that I believe these outdated insecure extensions are required for. I am happy to develop the site without live refreshing. 

The Adobe tutorials do not explain exactly what in the described methods are insecure. The way they refer to previous versions of Dreamweaver is really amateur, my previous post was written in frustration having followed tutorials such as https://helpx.adobe.com/dreamweaver/using/adding-dynamic-content-pages.html and installing extensions which I then find are insecure and I am having a problem removing.

I am currently reading https://www.w3schools.com/php/ which I would highly recommend, after a couple of hours I have got the knowledge I need

[Nancy OShea]

• Did you install a local testing server on your computer yet?
• Did you create a MySQL database table in your testing server yet?

This tutorial is old but it's still relevant.

Setting Up a PHP Environment in Dreamweaver

https://www.adobe.com/devnet/archive/dreamweaver/articles/setup_php.html

[xjoffa]

This is exactly the sort of documentation that wasted so much of my time. It does all seem to be relevant until you get to the 'Connecting to the database' section. There it describes using the 'Databases' item in the Window menu. As I now understand it this has been removed for security purposes from current versions of Dreamweaver. Googling for where this option is takes you to Extensions to enable that capability. Installing that Extension adds the'Databases' item, but I can find no way to remove it.

Why has this document not been updated by Adobe? Similar documents that are not archived still mention these security risks. 

For someone like me just starting to use dynamic websites it is incredibly frustrating.

[Nancy OShea]

DW's built-in Server Behaviors are deprecated.  You must replace them with purchased 3rd party extensions or code manually as I showed in my earlier reply.  

Agreed about Adobe help articles not always being up to do date.  With so many different products and versions (mobile and desktop) it's a big challenge to stay on top of everyting.  But they are working on it. 

[Nancy OShea]

I have branched this to a new discussion as the former one is rather old. 

If you can code manually, you can create a dynamic site with modern PHP code and MySQL databases.   Below is an example of a PHP connection using MySQLi (improved), where username and password are your server database's username and password. 

 <?php
$servername = "localhost";
$username = "username";
$password = "password";

// Create connection
$conn = new mysqli($servername, $username, $password);

// Check connection
if ($conn->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $conn->connect_error);
}
echo "Connected successfully";
?> 

If you can't code manually, there are 3rd party extensions you can buy from DMX Zone or Web Assist. 

• https://www.dmxzone.com/go/22072/dmxzone-database-connector-php/
• http://www.webassist.com/dreamweaver-extensions/mysqli

Similarly, there are visual web application builders like Wappler that can help you get the job done. https://wappler.io/

Or you could go completely open source and use WordPress or Drupal to build your site online.  

The best solution will take into account your site requirements, server, skills and budget.