Took a Big Bite and Now I'm Choking . . .

[pwillis]

I think I've bitten off more than I can chew here however, I'm a complete optimist and used to dealing with complex situations. I'm a recording engineer by profession. Anyway guys, this is my first serious attempt at web design/programming and have chosen PHP as my main focal point but I don't know a **** thing about it. Downloaded and installed PHPbb but ummmm . . . where do I access it to program the layout? I thought my installs would show up in the Bluehost Cpanel but alas . . . no such luck. Installed PHP Nuke too, but can't figure out how to begin.

No, I don't know what I'm doing and what I want to do is huge. Waaaaaaaa:eek:

Any help (and wise ass comments [deserved]) are welcome.

Thanks in advance!
P

[John]

First place to start would be here: http://us.php.net/tut.php

Lot's of resources, and tutorials. Read, read, read....

:D

[Basil]

How did you go about installing it?

[pwillis]

Installed it using the Fantastico services.

[Basil]

Okay, under cPanel go to File Manager, click on the folder icon next to public_html and the directory you installed phpbb to should be there.

Anything under public_html is accessible by typing your domain name, plus a forward slash, and then the path to the file (example.com/path/to/file).

If you don't already know, learn how to use the directory system. Some people will argue that using an FTP program is better than the File Manager, but I personally only use FTP if I'm transferring large files.

[aceofspades]

go to pdfchm.com they will have good books for u

[pwillis]

A gracious thank you for all of your replies as I don't understand any English that has : // and _ 's as part of a word. Although I am learning, and am very excited by the prospect of it, and the challenges. I very much appreciate not being treated like an idiot. Thank you for that. :)

I will try everything suggested here and am certain the results will be positive. Thanks very much guys!

[pwillis]

Okay, under cPanel go to File Manager, click on the folder icon next to public_html and the directory you installed phpbb to should be there.

Anything under public_html is accessible by typing your domain name, plus a forward slash, and then the path to the file (example.com/path/to/file).

If you don't already know, learn how to use the directory system. Some people will argue that using an FTP program is better than the File Manager, but I personally only use FTP if I'm transferring large files.

Basil,

Thank you. I did that and found my php board. One more question and I know this will sound stupid but I really don't know the answer; do I edit the pages, styles and categories using php code within the cPanel or is their a more visual way of doing it?

Thanks again!
P

[Basil]

I recommend starting with the basics, if you have the time to do it I strongly suggest learning HTML, W3Schools.com (http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp) is a great place to start.

There are programs called WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editors, these allow you to visually manipulate the page you're working on, however they produce very poor code and I would advise against using them.

Trust me, if you truly are interested in learning then it isn't difficult. If you see it more as a chore it will be a lot harder.

To answer your question about editing the pages, if you're talking about things within phpBB then you can do almost everything through the admin control panel on there. It's pretty easy to navigate, you just log in and all the stuff you can mess with is on a menu on the left.

[pwillis]

Again, Thanks Basil for your information and for taking the time to educate me.

They say that fear is based on not understanding. php, html, etc. is a fear but, a fear that I certainly would love to conqueror. So I'll again, take your advice, follow your links and hope I get through this unscathed.

At the moment when I type my address into my browser, PHPbb is automatically shown and I suppose it's bcz itis the 1st install that I performed. How do I change that in the time to come as, PHPbb will only represent a small portion of our site? I've tried uploading some php mods (templates) but can't seem to get them installed properly.

Someday I know I'll look back on all this with a laugh but at the moment I'm in tears. :(

[Basil]

It sounds like you installed it to the root directory (public_html).

There are a couple of different ways to move the forum into a subdirectory, which one you choose depends on the situation you're in.

If phpbb is the only thing you have under public_html right now the easiest way to do this is just open File Manager and rename public_html to to whatever you want the phpbb directory to be (ie. forum, phpbb, etc). You do this by clicking on the public_html link then clicking 'Rename this folder' in the top right corner. After you've renamed it, click on 'Create New Folder' in the top left, name the new folder public_html. Now click on the phpbb folder, click 'Move this folder', and then click on the new public_html. That should put your phpbb installation in a subdirectory under your main site.

Your other options would be to uninstall phpbb through fantastico and then reinstalling it in a subdirectory, or creating a new folder under public_html and moving all the phpbb files and folders into it.

There are other ways to do it but the first one I've written out is probably going to be the quickest and easiest.

If you're interested in learning how to manually install phpbb, rather than just use fantastico, I wrote a tutorial on it that you can check out here (http://bluehostforum.com/showthread.php?t=7800). Even if you don't follow it, it might help you understand how to use cPanel a little better, and understand what's going on behind the scenes when you use fantastico.

[pwillis]

Thanks so much for your guided efforts Basil. I'm now learning how to chew my food and breathe at the same time. Many more questions, road blocks and head scratchin, but I feel I'm really getting somewhere. Here (http://www.invisableworld.net/), is "somewhere" and although I'm slow at achieving the desired results and still learning a %$@*load every day.

Thanks so very much for your support and patients!

(The phpbb2 boards can be accessed under the "boards" link.)

Now, on to my next problem . . .

:)

[hofmax]

Wow, you've come a long way already for a newbie! Congrats.

I always found this link about programming tutorials (http://www.sitepoint.com/subcat/php-tutorials) helpful.

Specifically the following tutorials:

Build your own database driven website using PHP (http://www.sitepoint.com/article/php-mysql-tutorial): Part 1 (http://www.sitepoint.com/article/php-amp-mysql-1-installation), Part 2 (http://www.sitepoint.com/article/getting-started-mysql), Part 3 (http://www.sitepoint.com/article/mysql-3-getting-started-php), Part 4 (http://www.sitepoint.com/article/publishing-mysql-data-web)

[pwillis]

hofmax.

thanks so much for the info. I will check it ALL out and digest it. This is the onlyway I've been learning, along with the invaluable help of considerate people at message boards across the Internet.

Thanks so very much!

P

[hofmax]

Just make sure you don't put too much on your plate and go step by step. In that first link there is a lot of unnecessary stuff. Try to focus on understanding the basics of PHP & MySQL and how websites are dynamically generated by pulling data from a database and rendering it with HTML (PHP - Hypertext Preprocessor).

Once you are decent the next step is to realise that if you have a busy site on bluehost you've really got to cut down on queries or you may get in trouble ;)

That's why my next programming project will be a script that churns out static files from a db that I can upload to bluehost. That way I can really use the resources provided by the plan without getting CPU problems.

[pwillis]

hofmax,

thanks again for the tips! most of what you said, I don't understand, but appreciate the effort.

which "first link" are you referring too? even I'm not so sure what you mean, I get the feeling you could be right cuz, I'm sensing disorganization in my thoughts as I create this baby.

[hofmax]

hofmax,

thanks again for the tips! most of what you said, I don't understand, but appreciate the effort.

which "first link" are you referring too? even I'm not so sure what you mean, I get the feeling you could be right cuz, I'm sensing disorganization in my thoughts as I create this baby.

The one entitled programming tutorials. That one contains a lot of other stuff some of which is way too advanced and specific.

If I were you I would focus on these Build your own database driven website using PHP: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

[pwillis]

Thanks for clarifying that hofmax. I thought you were referring to my site. I revisited my work and was trying to figure out what I'd done there that qualified as being "too much on my plate". :)

I spent my morning yesterday at the first link you provided me with, reading and trying several of their demo scripts. It was very helpful. The site is very similar to W3Schools (http://www.w3schools.com/default.asp) site which someone at phpbb had referred me to. (Can never have too many tutorials.)

You're correct in saying that some of the info can be overwhelming to a newbie. Actually, I find that most of these tutorials are written for people who have some prior understanding of the craft, as opposed to those who are, like me, complete idiots about it all.

When trying to attempt a html/php form at the site you directed me to, it took me 30 minutes before I realized that each script had to have it's own separate page. I was trying to do it all one one page and of course it never worked. Now, I know.

I will focus on the other links you gave me, and see what happens. At any rate, I am learning, it by bit and am grateful for the tips.

Thanks so very much for your time and patience.

Kind Regards,

Peter

[pwillis]

Thanks for clarifying that hofmax. I thought you were referring to my site. I revisited my work and was trying to figure out what I'd done there that qualified as being "too much on my plate". :)

I spent my morning yesterday at the first link you provided me with, reading and trying several of their demo scripts. It was very helpful. The site is very similar to W3Schools (http://www.w3schools.com/default.asp) site which someone at phpbb had referred me to. (Can never have too many tutorials.)

You're correct in saying that some of the info can be overwhelming to a newbie. Actually, I find that most of these tutorials are written for people who have some prior understanding of the craft, as opposed to those who are, like me, complete idiots about it all.

When trying to attempt a html/php form at the site you directed me to, it took me 30 minutes before I realized that each script had to have it's own separate page. I was trying to do it all one one page and of course it never worked. Now, I know.

I will focus on the other links you gave me, and see what happens. At any rate, I am learning, it by bit and am grateful for the tips.

Thanks so very much for your time and patience.

Kind Regards,

Peter

[pwillis]

Thanks for clarifying that hofmax. I thought you were referring to my site. I revisited my work and was trying to figure out what I'd done there that qualified as being "too much on my plate". :)

I spent my morning yesterday at the first link you provided me with, reading and trying several of their demo scripts. It was very helpful. The site is very similar to W3Schools (http://www.w3schools.com/default.asp) site which someone at phpbb had referred me to. (Can never have too many tutorials.)

You're correct in saying that some of the info can be overwhelming to a newbie. Actually, I find that most of these tutorials are written for people who have some prior understanding of the craft, as opposed to those who are, like me, complete idiots about it all.

When trying to attempt a html/php form at the site you directed me to, it took me 30 minutes before I realized that each script had to have it's own separate page. I was trying to do it all one one page and of course it never worked. Now, I know.

I will focus on the other links you gave me, and see what happens. At any rate, I am learning, it by bit and am grateful for the tips.

Thanks so very much for your time and patience.

Kind Regards,

Peter