Is MySQL / PHP the proper technologies for my needs?

[beeker]

Hello this is my first post in this forum... and you will have to forgive me but I am a huge noob to this and am way over my head...

A friend of mine has asked him to create a site... I believe he will need a db backend and I think I may be able to use php for the forms / main page. But I am not sure:

So First I would like to know if MySQL / PHP is the proper choice to create this page... also if so, any help / resources on how to create it

What he would like to create is:
* from a drop down list select a contact as the shipper at which point their address information etc will populate the fields.

* in a seperate section select another contact as the receiver which would also auto populate the fields...

* both of these contact sections would also have the ability to create a new contact / modify an existing contact right in this page...

* more form lines, txt, checkboxes, drop downs, all of which should be saved into a db so that it could be pulled back up at a later date for invoicing etc.


another friend of mine suggesting finding a premade db application, which is fine with me as long as it meets his needs and / or it could be modified to do so.

I will be using a hosting solution that supports up to 10 mysql databases...

hopefully I have provided all the info you need. If I havent please let me know so I can get it to you...

Thanks in advance,
Keith

 

[conor]

yes php and mysql would be the right solution. As for all the programing, you would probarbly have to get someone to sit down with you and explain it to you.

You can download WAMP (for windows) it has php, mysql, pear etc with it at http://www.wampserver.com/en/download.php

 

[beeker]

Thanks Conor,

After posting my question, I thought of a sub question for this...

If they wanted to run a report to view the complete details of each entry can this be done from the desktop or will a web interface be needed. Both are fine... just curious...

Also once the form has been filled out can the contents be mailed out in a usable format?

I will download wamp tonight... does this give me the ability to create / test offline... and / or offer any aditional functionality.

Thanks again

 

[zkiller]

If they wanted to run a report to view the complete details of each entry can this be done from the desktop or will a web interface be needed. Both are fine... just curious...

An online solution would be simplest here.

Also once the form has been filled out can the contents be mailed out in a usable format?

Sure, if need be you can even dynamically create pdf files.

 

[beeker]

Sounds good on both counts...

I do have a question on mysql db table types...
i know the default is myisam... below is the 3 tables i have laid out so far, i believe i need to use innodb so that i can use foreign keys to link data in multiple tables... but what i found is that innodb doesnt all full text indexing... I believe that means i wont be able to search based on keywords (tell me if I am mistaken).

Here is the table layouts i have so far (not using mysql language im using a graphical interface)

table company
comanyID (primary key), name, address, city, state, country, contactID (reference key)

table contact
contactID (primary key), name, phone1, phone2, email

table login (not sure if this is now it would be done but eventually will need a way for people to login... if nothting else this would be a record for us on everyones account)
username (primary key), password, companyID (reference key)

Let me know if I am way off base etc... im reading my friends book mysql tutorial by mysql press

 

[beeker]

I have access to a site that has some simular sections to what i want to have... and i have written out a plan on how to implement it in the db... I want to make sure it is proper or if I have too many tables... remember I will need to easily pull back this data and view it as a whole...

The attached image is a spliced up version of that siten (to get it within image size restrictions... the bottom section will be repeated about 9 or 10 times...

db design (some sections you cant see in the image)
table company (companyID, other fields)
table charges (chargesID, other fields, orderID Reference key)
table shipping (shippingID, other fields, orderID Reference key)
table items_list (table_itemsID, other fields, orderID Reference key) this will include the fields in that table on the bottom of the attached image.
table order (orderID, companyID, chargesID, shippingID, items_listID)

tying into my previous question which db table type should i use myisam or innodb? i believe innodb due to the reference keys...

Also is the above design good, or is it incorrect...

if so next will be tying into php and having all the tables updated correctly...