I thought PHP and MySQL were difficult at first, too, but nearly all
of them work the same way:
1) create up a database (phpMyAdmin makes this very easy) that you
wish to use to hold your data
2) (optional, but recommended) add a user just for that database, and
grant all the permissions to that database for that user
3) edit one configuration file in the distribution, with as little
information as database URL, database name, login, and password.
Sometimes you have to also tell the PHP program where the "base URL"
is for the program, and that is usually just
http://wherever.your.site.is/phpprogram ...
That being too much (or you don't have MySQL) take a look at
http://sourceforge.net .. http://sourceforge.net/projects/wiki/ is
what's called a "flat file" WIKI (No database needed). It's only 6KB!
(although you do have to change the config.inc. Also, it appears
usernames and passwords are stored in clear text... Of course, there
are others available, like http://sourceforge.net/projects/erfurtwiki/
and others. (Look for flat file)
Why PHP? Because it helps create dynamic web pages without you having
to handle HTML code. And it's free. The only caveat is that your web
site provider must support PHP, which most paid sites do provide. And
if they don't provide PHP, you're likely paying too much.
As with a lot of web applications available for free, most of it isn't
point and click, because the overhead is wasteful. Especially when all
there needs to change is one configuration file. |
