i run a newspaper website. right now i'm using SSI and PHP and other tricks to automatically update all the pages that need updating, but it's laborious. i want to switch to a database.

i need to have the articles themselves, plus the writer's names, and the titles all put into the database. i need to have this organized into categories (ie. sports, news, entertainment). i need to be able to do things like pull only the first paragraph out of the article. i need to be able to use the database to insert pictures...

can mySQL do all this?

if the answer is yes, then can someone help me figure out how to set it all up? my server say's mySQL is enabled. great. now how do i make a database?

yarrgh

Yeah. All this is possible using PHP and MySQL. It's a full content management system, though, so if you have no previous experience with PHP/MySQL and don't have the time to learn it well then you might want to get someone to build it for you or use a premade solution.

You could try some of the premade solutions such as PostNuke/PHPNuke etc. which will probably do this. http://www.hotscripts.com has a lot of PHP scripts for this too.

If you choose to try yourself here are some pointers:
1. Learn PHP (http://www.freewebmasterhelp.com/tutorials/php)
2. Learn PHP/MySQL (http://www.freewebmasterhel.com/tutorials/phpmysql)

Then you'll need to set up your system. I would do it by having a MySQL table of categories (and sub-categories if you wanted that). Then I'd have a table of writers (and their details (plus username/password for updating if needed)). There would also be a table of articles. Each article would have an ID, title, author id (from the other table), category id (from the other table) etc.

To extract the first paragraph I would use PHP to get all text stored in the article up to the first enter.

For inserting the data, you'll need some sort of backend system. This would need to be able to add/edit/delete authors, articles and categories. If authors could also add their own information you'd need some sort of login system too.

As you can see, it's quite a big project to undertake. You should be able to find a script to do it yourself but if you wanted a custom system or need any more advice please post again or PM me and I'd be happy to help.

I'm writing a series of articles, a tutorial for newbies using PHP and MySQL at my website. I've been trying to decide on a project to use for part two of the MySQL article. If you want, I could center it around what you're looking for, that way maybe you could get some help and learn along the way. The site is http://www.jmrtechnet.com.

Anyway, to answer your question, PHP and MySQL can do just about anything, and could definitely serve your needs.

thanks to both of you greatly.

Jason: i'd be delighted to have you center it around my project. i also have a sugesstion, as a beginner who is confused about mysql: put a lot in about how to set everything up and get it started. the tutorials iv'e seen have been brief on that part, and left me wondering how to start while they go on to start coding.

david: yes indeed its a big project. my main motivation is to cut down on the time it takes me to transfer data from their printmaking program to the website. can take me hours the way i do it now. copying and pasting into tons of files... i'm totally ready to get it done though... hopefulllly before the 23rd, when school starts !!


in case anyone wants to see the extant non-database site;

http://horizon.westmont.edu


-yarrgh