Setting up a new dynamic web site

[Begadoc]

A few years ago I setup up a dynamic web site for my local church to log and display graveyard details going back to the early 1700s. I used the excellent tutorials written by David Powers - How to build a dynamic web site. The tutorial files I have are dated August 2013 so in IT and Dreamweaver terms it is an elderly tutorial.

I now have reason to update it and have been looking at David's tutorials on Dreamweaver which are on Lynda. Basically, being very much a novice if I am going to tackle this I need updates to the topics covered by David in 2013 and his updates on Lynda.

I suppose this is really a question for David, but I am sure he has lots of fans who may be able to point me to the right tutorials. Hopefully David himself will see this!

Are there any updates to the original Power's "How to build a dynamic web site" tutorials by him or others that tie in with the current version of Dreamweaver CC? I have already found that some of the code in the original tutorials (and hence my web site) is obsolete.

Many thanks.

[BenPleysier]

I am sure that David_Powers​ will see your plea.

[David_Powers]

I'm currently in the Norwegian Sea in search of the Northern Lights, so don't have much chance to respond.Still, the advice given by Ben and Nancy is pretty much spot on. PHP 7 doesn't support the very much outdated Dreamweaver PHP server behaviors. If learning how to code MySQLi or PDO isn't an option, relying on the (paid-for) extensions created by a company such as DMXZone is probably the simplest solution. For anyone with access to lynda.com, my PHP: Accessing Databases with PDO and MySQLi course should set you on the right track; but it does involve hand coding. Dreamweaver won't automate the code generation for you.

[Nancy OShea]

Hi David,

Aurora borealis, awesome! 

Take lots of pictures and post them to your Behance/Adobe Portfolio  page .

[Begadoc]

Thanks David. Hope you find the aurora. Saw one unusual one whilst at Uni in St Andrews - looked like flames leaping up from the horizon. Rarely from Cumbria we see a green glow - too much light pollution.

[osgood_]

You can find plenty of basic tutorials if you search google or youtube, just make sure they are using either mysqli or pdo.

Dreamweaver offers nothing like it did in 2013 to make it easy for you to connect and query a database so you are either going to have to write your own connection/query code or purchase a third party extension which should include the basics that you require.

Its not that difficult really to write your own code so l would advise having a go at that first before you spend any further money.

[Nancy OShea · Accepted solution]

The deprecated server behavior panels were removed from DW CC for a reason.  The code is outdated, not secure and won't work on servers with PHP 7+.   Since Adobe did not see fit to replace the panels with newly coded ones, there are no DW tutorials I can send you to. 

Learning to write code in MySQLi (improved) or PDO isn't difficult but there is a learning curve.   Alternatively, you can purchase commercial extensions from WebAssist or DMX Zone that will generate code for you.

1.  The WebAssist MySQLi extension piggy backs on the old DW panels.  For this reason, you might have trouble using it with anything newer than DW 2015. 

MySQLi Server Behaviors | Dreamweaver extension | WebAssist

2. Get the Deprecated Server Behaviors extension from DMX Zone

https://www.dmxzone.com/go/21842/enable-server-behaviors-and-data-bindings-panel-support-for-dreamwe...

3. To install 3rd party extensions, get the Extension Manager from DMX Zone.

https://www.dmxzone.com/go/22670/dmxzone-extension-manager-for-dreamweaver

Or skip #1 and #2 above and get DMX Zone's Database Connectivity Collection

https://www.dmxzone.com/go/22151/database-connectivity-collection-php/

Nancy

[Begadoc]

Thanks Nancy & Osgood - I'll look at these suggestions. On the other hand, I'm tempted to use the "if it works, don't fix it" principle.

The trouble with learning curves is that at my age they all tend to be on the steep side! Spending the money may be the better option for me.

[Nancy OShea]

Which version of PHP do you have on your server?

If your hosting provider is still on PHP 5x, you can probably keep using what you have for now.  Problems will ensue however when the PHP & MySQL are updated. 

I still maintain some legacy sites with older PHP code in them.  But I know I'm living on borrowed time and will have to re-write the code eventually.

[Begadoc]

I, or more to the point, the church authority, has a slight dilemma. It has the option of a purchased system which is not yet fully developed, but in the longer term will be quite sophisticated and more importantly, be supported. However it costs, not very intuitive and a bit difficult to use. I, as a testing user, have picked quite a few holes in the software. OK as long as you do exactly what you are supposed to do, but then users often don't. It is very unforgiving of that.

The alternative is what I developed about 5 years ago. It is free (apart from domain and ISP hosting), simple to use, pretty basic, but it does the job. Keeps an accurate record of burials at the Priory since 1705. The downside is the long term support. There is only me, a 78 year old  amateur! Not a good long term option!

For the next 6 months the plan is to run the two in parallel. I have been invited by the suppliers of the professional system to help with the development as I have in my working days (25 years ago) been involved in developing medical software - I provided the user requirements and the IT specialists programmed what I wanted. The partnership produced some good software which is still in use today.

I want to improve my system, mainly for the fun and satisfaction of doing so. If it results in a stable system worth using, the bonus to the church is that it will save the church some cash.

Having looked at the tutorials for the DMX software, that may be a way of improving the in-house system. A bit pricey but that's my problem, not the church's.

My ISP is on PHP 7 I think.

[Nancy OShea]

DMX Zone would be a good option if your server uses PHP 7.

[BenPleysier]

I am 3 years your junior and hope to be as active as you in 3 years time.

I have been using the DMXZone PDO extensions and found them (the extensions) to be very helpful and time saving. Apart from the price, there is also a steep learning curve especially when one comes from the deprecated Dreamweaver (DW) Server Behaviours (SB) environment.

A very good alternative is the WebAssist MySQLi extension which builds on the old DW SB and will most likely allow you to use much of your existing sequence of events. To help you with coding in MySQLi (which stands for MySQL improved) have a look at PHP mysqli_query() Function