not sure if this will make sense, but here goes:<br />
<br />
i am making available on my website a number of fabrics, types of paper, and colors to choose from (i handmake journals/books). i'd like for visitors to be able to select one from each category and have each choice they've made add to a list that can then be submitted to me via email so i can contact them. the categories are all on different html pages within the site, so i suppose i'm looking for it to be similar to a 'shopping cart', but for 'form inputs' rather than actual items.<br />
<br />
don't know much about server databases, &c, so i might be asking a lot from html/javascript. <br />
<br />
any suggestions on how to approach this? i'm willing to tighten my belt and delve into more advanced concepts, so even just pointing me in the right direction would help as well....<!--content-->java script is not your answer. Time for you to go to barns and noble and pick up a nice book on the lang and db of your choice. Do you have any past programming experience (c++, java, vb)? What does you server support.<!--content-->hi PeOfEo ---<br />
<br />
well, i thought as much. i've not got much programming experience beyond html, but i'm ready to roll up my sleeves and dig in. my server supports PHP/Perl (as a Linux server) and ASP/PHP (if i choose the Windows server). also supports MySQL databases and CGI. so i'm set up for it, i know--i just haven't made the leap.....<br />
<br />
now, off to the bookstore....<!--content-->In that case, PHP combined with MySQL offers some interesting possibilities; in your case, a session type process comes to mind which PHP supports very nicely.<br />
The idea is having a user identify herself through some form of registration (could basicaaly even be anonymous) and logging any choice they've made during such a session somewhere on the server; if all choices are made and some contact information is supplied they can request you to contact them.<!--content-->hi ronaldb66--<br />
<br />
a session such as the one you're suggesting i think is exactly the right idea. do you think it's possible using PHP/MySQL to have an anonymous registration and logging of choices take place automatically, without the visitor having to input their name and address until they are ready to submit the info?<br />
<br />
for example, i see this chain of events:<br />
1) the visitor would notice that there is a 'custom shop'<br />
2) they click a link/button to enter<br />
3) on that click, an 'anonymous login' takes place in the background (with no obtrusive, outward sign to the visitor) and logging of the custom options begins. <br />
4) they complete their choices, and select a button (visible somewhere the entire time) to signifiy they are done choosing options <br />
5) they are then taken to a form to input their name, address, email, etc, and can then submit that form and the previously logged choices to me.<br />
<br />
make sense?<br />
just seeing if it's a reasonable possibility--it'll be my job to implement this thing!<br />
<br />
thanks for your help....!<!--content-->look, you can do the same stuff with php as asp, asp will also offer you an application wide variable, which can be extremely useful. You can use a session, which is basically cacheing data at the server and storeing it as a cookie for the user, or you could just use a straight up cookie (might be more efficient if you get a lot of traffic). The session and cookies do not force a user to login, you can store their stuff in that without them logging in, but as I have always said, logging in is the best way to identify a user. A little pet peeve of mine is when users act like one thing is the only thing that can do something. For instance, you said php offers this unique ability, but asp, cgi, asp.net, jsp, and cfm can do the same thing. Now, if it were something that the others clearly do not have, such as an application wide vairable in asp or asp.net, or oo in asp.net or jsp, then you could say the others do not offer it and it would be a true statement.<!--content-->
<br />
i am making available on my website a number of fabrics, types of paper, and colors to choose from (i handmake journals/books). i'd like for visitors to be able to select one from each category and have each choice they've made add to a list that can then be submitted to me via email so i can contact them. the categories are all on different html pages within the site, so i suppose i'm looking for it to be similar to a 'shopping cart', but for 'form inputs' rather than actual items.<br />
<br />
don't know much about server databases, &c, so i might be asking a lot from html/javascript. <br />
<br />
any suggestions on how to approach this? i'm willing to tighten my belt and delve into more advanced concepts, so even just pointing me in the right direction would help as well....<!--content-->java script is not your answer. Time for you to go to barns and noble and pick up a nice book on the lang and db of your choice. Do you have any past programming experience (c++, java, vb)? What does you server support.<!--content-->hi PeOfEo ---<br />
<br />
well, i thought as much. i've not got much programming experience beyond html, but i'm ready to roll up my sleeves and dig in. my server supports PHP/Perl (as a Linux server) and ASP/PHP (if i choose the Windows server). also supports MySQL databases and CGI. so i'm set up for it, i know--i just haven't made the leap.....<br />
<br />
now, off to the bookstore....<!--content-->In that case, PHP combined with MySQL offers some interesting possibilities; in your case, a session type process comes to mind which PHP supports very nicely.<br />
The idea is having a user identify herself through some form of registration (could basicaaly even be anonymous) and logging any choice they've made during such a session somewhere on the server; if all choices are made and some contact information is supplied they can request you to contact them.<!--content-->hi ronaldb66--<br />
<br />
a session such as the one you're suggesting i think is exactly the right idea. do you think it's possible using PHP/MySQL to have an anonymous registration and logging of choices take place automatically, without the visitor having to input their name and address until they are ready to submit the info?<br />
<br />
for example, i see this chain of events:<br />
1) the visitor would notice that there is a 'custom shop'<br />
2) they click a link/button to enter<br />
3) on that click, an 'anonymous login' takes place in the background (with no obtrusive, outward sign to the visitor) and logging of the custom options begins. <br />
4) they complete their choices, and select a button (visible somewhere the entire time) to signifiy they are done choosing options <br />
5) they are then taken to a form to input their name, address, email, etc, and can then submit that form and the previously logged choices to me.<br />
<br />
make sense?<br />
just seeing if it's a reasonable possibility--it'll be my job to implement this thing!<br />
<br />
thanks for your help....!<!--content-->look, you can do the same stuff with php as asp, asp will also offer you an application wide variable, which can be extremely useful. You can use a session, which is basically cacheing data at the server and storeing it as a cookie for the user, or you could just use a straight up cookie (might be more efficient if you get a lot of traffic). The session and cookies do not force a user to login, you can store their stuff in that without them logging in, but as I have always said, logging in is the best way to identify a user. A little pet peeve of mine is when users act like one thing is the only thing that can do something. For instance, you said php offers this unique ability, but asp, cgi, asp.net, jsp, and cfm can do the same thing. Now, if it were something that the others clearly do not have, such as an application wide vairable in asp or asp.net, or oo in asp.net or jsp, then you could say the others do not offer it and it would be a true statement.<!--content-->