Freeway, through Actions, can query a MySQL database. You can also write code in nearly any language and tack it on to a Freeway layout through the various Markup Items and HTML Markup dialogs (or work the other way and consume the Freeway layout as a template) and integrate an application framework with the look and feel from Freeway.
But. (huge pause for dramatic effect)
There is no way that you can start from nothing, using mainly Freeway, and build the sort of thing that you are sketching out here. You need to have some classical programming skills and experience, and you will have to get out and push quite often.
Furthermore, getting photos on a Web server connected to a database means creating a file upload system, which exposes you to a universe of Bad Things that can and will be used against you by evil teenagers in a basement somewhere.
Thanks Walter. I do have programming experience (30+ years C & C++ & database experience) but very little in a web environment. My first concern is to see how the web environment works and if the Freeway tool will meet my needs. Once I figure out the pieces I’m pretty sure I can put it all together.
Is there a good overview of programming in a web environment perhaps?
Many people choose PHP and MySQL for their ubiquity. My favorite book
on those lines is PHP and MySQL Web Applications by Luke Welling and
Laura Tompson. Keith Martin has a good tutorial that gets you over
some of the basics pretty quickly, too. Look at http://thehelpful.com
for more.
Lately I have been working more in Ruby on Rails, which is the Space
Shuttle to PHP’s late model Camaro. if you have a choice, and the
experience in C based languages, you will find the Ruby language a
complete joy to work with, and Rails an incredibly well thought-out
framework. But that brings some more requirements on the server side,
while PHP’s greatest strength is being able to find a hosting provider
in a box of Cracker Jack.
The thing to think about here is that while Freeway is an incredible
layout tool for static pages, it requires a lot of help to build truly
dynamic sites, and a lot of understanding of both how the vanilla Web
CGI workflow works as well as how Freeway differs from the more
traditional programming environment. A lot of the effort is in
figuring out how to subvert Freeway’s help and bend it to do things it
wasn’t designed to do. I have written a lot of Actions to that end,
you can find them at ActionsForge.com in the Code Tools section.
Walter
On Sep 7, 2010, at 8:21 PM, Jeff Schmidt wrote:
Thanks Walter. I do have programming experience (30+ years C & C++ &
database experience) but very little in a web environment. My first
concern is to see how the web environment works and if the Freeway
tool will meet my needs. Once I figure out the pieces I’m pretty
sure I can put it all together.
Is there a good overview of programming in a web environment perhaps?
Thanks again Walter. I’ll certainly look into your suggested readings.
It sounds like Freeway may not be the best choice for a dynamic site. I have Freeway Express and was considering upgrading to Pro for this project, but I may need to research the alternatives. I’ve worked in the past with tools that don’t fit the project and it’s not something I’m looking to repeat.
I don’t want to put you off by any means, and I have built a lot of
really deep web applications using Freeway Pro. But to say that
Freeway alone can do this is not honest. A lot of the time is spent in
TextMate or BBEdit or whatever, writing long pages of code that get
included into the Freeway layout. Freeway is, hands-down, the fastest
way to translate your visual ideas into valid HTML. It is not, nor
does it plan to be, an application development environment all by
itself. It provides the savvy user with “nooks and crannies” for your
code. But it won’t write that code for you or help you debug it, to
give a couple of examples.
Walter
On Sep 7, 2010, at 9:01 PM, Jeff Schmidt wrote:
Thanks again Walter. I’ll certainly look into your suggested readings.
It sounds like Freeway may not be the best choice for a dynamic
site. I have Freeway Express and was considering upgrading to Pro
for this project, but I may need to research the alternatives. I’ve
worked in the past with tools that don’t fit the project and it’s
not something I’m looking to repeat.
Many people choose PHP and MySQL for their ubiquity. My favorite book
on those lines is PHP and MySQL Web Applications by Luke Welling and
Laura Tompson.
Yep, that’s a good one. As far as PHP frameworks go have a look at CodeIgniter http://codeigniter.com/
On the Ruby/RoR side here’s a good list of books for different skill levels: