Which Web environment?
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Hi All, I want to create a web site for taking users through a step-by-step process. Basically the user will choose an option in step 1, then depending on the option the next step will show a different set of options in step 2 (i.e. in step 1 there are options A and B, step 2 has options 1, 2 and 3. If user selects A, then options 1 and 3 are available. If user selects B, then options 2 and 3 are available). When the thing is finished it is going to be put into a normal html site as a link. My problem/question is that with so many different web technologies out there (PHP, ASP, .NET, ...), which is the best for doing this sort of thing? Thanks, Rich
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning." -- Rich Cook
.NETVasudevan Deepak Kumar Personal Homepage Tech Gossips
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You are a genuine enlightener, then.
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Hi All, I want to create a web site for taking users through a step-by-step process. Basically the user will choose an option in step 1, then depending on the option the next step will show a different set of options in step 2 (i.e. in step 1 there are options A and B, step 2 has options 1, 2 and 3. If user selects A, then options 1 and 3 are available. If user selects B, then options 2 and 3 are available). When the thing is finished it is going to be put into a normal html site as a link. My problem/question is that with so many different web technologies out there (PHP, ASP, .NET, ...), which is the best for doing this sort of thing? Thanks, Rich
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning." -- Rich Cook
I'm going to recommend using a simple JavaScript program to do this. You can find out more about javascript at http://www.htmlgoodies.com/primers/jsp/[^]. If that doesn't quite provide what you you are looking for then I honestly would recommend PHP. It will provide far better flexibility when it comes to which platform you use (supports Windows, Linux, Mac, Solaris and more). If you need any help with that feel free to contact me.
Brad Australian - Christian Graus on "Best books for VBscript" A big thick one, so you can whack yourself on the head with it.
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Hi All, I want to create a web site for taking users through a step-by-step process. Basically the user will choose an option in step 1, then depending on the option the next step will show a different set of options in step 2 (i.e. in step 1 there are options A and B, step 2 has options 1, 2 and 3. If user selects A, then options 1 and 3 are available. If user selects B, then options 2 and 3 are available). When the thing is finished it is going to be put into a normal html site as a link. My problem/question is that with so many different web technologies out there (PHP, ASP, .NET, ...), which is the best for doing this sort of thing? Thanks, Rich
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning." -- Rich Cook
The best way to go about this would probably be to use JavaScript and an HTML form, where the script would dynamically show or hide form radio buttons and their corresponding questions, depending on user's selection, using the CSS attribute display, and setting it to none and later to block, which you can tie to a boolean in the script, which saves you from redrawing the screen after each selection. The script would also keep score and after the user has completed each step, display the result. Roswell
"Angelinos -- excuse me. There will be civility today."
Antonio VillaRaigosa
City Mayor, Los Angeles, CA -
Hi All, I want to create a web site for taking users through a step-by-step process. Basically the user will choose an option in step 1, then depending on the option the next step will show a different set of options in step 2 (i.e. in step 1 there are options A and B, step 2 has options 1, 2 and 3. If user selects A, then options 1 and 3 are available. If user selects B, then options 2 and 3 are available). When the thing is finished it is going to be put into a normal html site as a link. My problem/question is that with so many different web technologies out there (PHP, ASP, .NET, ...), which is the best for doing this sort of thing? Thanks, Rich
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning." -- Rich Cook
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I'm going to recommend using a simple JavaScript program to do this. You can find out more about javascript at http://www.htmlgoodies.com/primers/jsp/[^]. If that doesn't quite provide what you you are looking for then I honestly would recommend PHP. It will provide far better flexibility when it comes to which platform you use (supports Windows, Linux, Mac, Solaris and more). If you need any help with that feel free to contact me.
Brad Australian - Christian Graus on "Best books for VBscript" A big thick one, so you can whack yourself on the head with it.
Thanks. Will this also work if the steps are on different pages?
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning." -- Rich Cook
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Thanks. Will this also work if the steps are on different pages?
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning." -- Rich Cook
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If you want an unbiased answer you'll probably want to to a web dev site ;) Asking on a .Net site is going to give you a predictable answer :P BTW personally I'd go with ASP.Net :D
Yeah, you are probably right, but then I would not get such great responses :cool:
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning." -- Rich Cook
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The javascript solution or the PHP one? And regarless perhaps you could be slightly more specific in what you are trying to do.
The javascript one (as this is closer to my current knowlegde base). As mentioned in the original post, but each step has to be on a different page as each one has different graphics associated with it, mixing the graphics would cause a less nice display.
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning." -- Rich Cook
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Thanks. What is the difference between AJAX and ASP.NET?
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning." -- Rich Cook
ASP.NET is a server side environment - all the scripts run on the server, and look to the web browser like regular static HTML AJAX stands for Asynchronous Javascript and XML - this has Javascript that runs on the client browser that requests server side scripts for new information (So the Javascript refreshes and rebuilds the page contents, rather than requesting a whole new page from the server)
-- Help me! I'm turning into a grapefruit! Buzzwords!
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The javascript one (as this is closer to my current knowlegde base). As mentioned in the original post, but each step has to be on a different page as each one has different graphics associated with it, mixing the graphics would cause a less nice display.
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning." -- Rich Cook
If you're good with javascript, I'd recommend you have a play with the mootools framework: http://www.mootools.net/[^] Here's an example combining server side PHP with an ajax front end for dealing with forms: http://demos.mootools.net/Ajax.Form[^]
-- Help me! I'm turning into a grapefruit! Buzzwords!
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The javascript one (as this is closer to my current knowlegde base). As mentioned in the original post, but each step has to be on a different page as each one has different graphics associated with it, mixing the graphics would cause a less nice display.
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning." -- Rich Cook
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If you're good with javascript, I'd recommend you have a play with the mootools framework: http://www.mootools.net/[^] Here's an example combining server side PHP with an ajax front end for dealing with forms: http://demos.mootools.net/Ajax.Form[^]
-- Help me! I'm turning into a grapefruit! Buzzwords!
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You are looking for a server side system then (like PHP, ASP.net) or a hell of a complicated Ajax system,.
Brad Australian - Christian Graus on "Best books for VBscript" A big thick one, so you can whack yourself on the head with it.
For the sounds of it the server side ASP.NET is the most flexable.
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning." -- Rich Cook
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For the sounds of it the server side ASP.NET is the most flexable.
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning." -- Rich Cook
Hmm. No. Flexibility is not something you can tag ASP.net with. For a simple system like this either system will do. PHP does have a performance advantage over ASP.net, but you won't notice this on such a low level project.
Brad Australian - Christian Graus on "Best books for VBscript" A big thick one, so you can whack yourself on the head with it.
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You are looking for a server side system then (like PHP, ASP.net) or a hell of a complicated Ajax system,.
Brad Australian - Christian Graus on "Best books for VBscript" A big thick one, so you can whack yourself on the head with it.
I've actually found using mootools that Ajaxy stuff becomes incredibly easy. - Look at the example I posted - you basically just add an event to the form that intercepts the regular submit, and sends the submit via ajax instead, piping the output from the server side php into the div of your choice on the existing page. To chain a set of pages, all you'd need to do is have each form submit the load of the next form, and refresh the main div on the page.
-- Help me! I'm turning into a grapefruit! Buzzwords!
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Christian Graus wrote:
I have had pretty much 100% success in moving people from asp to ASP.NET
Take my current client, they have had this host for so long (they don't even have classic ASP support, just the likes of PHP) he wont change, even though I found him a good host for less than he's paying now (hell his current host doesn't even offer him POP3 mail account with his domain so he has a single @aol.com address for his business email), this new host runs Windows servers, .Net 2.0, SQL 2000/2005 and with it I could create all the "cool stuff" (as he calls it) he wants in his online presence, but I still cannot get him to switch. Hell I even said I would do all the DNS transfers, account setup and managing of the account so he didn't have to do anything. I went through the whole schpeel(sp) that I could setup all his business POP3 accounts, uch as sales@ramengine.com, services@ramengine.com, etc., I even let him know how unprofessional it was to have an @aol.com address for his business, especially considering he has his own domain. I guess a lot of his hesitance comes from the experience he went through when he first got his website , it's truly the ugliest website I've ever seen in my life, have a look here[^] and you'll see what I mean (View it in FireFox and you'll get a real idea of this "professional" website). The person who initially created it told them it was "state of the art" and charged them out the a** for it. I've made some "mock-ups" of the stuff I can offer him with his online presence on my website as a last ditch effort to convince him to change hosts and let me bring his company into the current web era. As of now, with his current host I am pretty much forced to create him a static HTML with some JavaScript and CSS styling. I've done business with this company for sometime now and really want to offer them a professional online presence, but with the experience of his last website fiasco it's not going to be easy. Christian, got any pointers for me?
"Let's face it, the average computer user has the brain of a Spider Monkey." Bill Gates
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Hmm. No. Flexibility is not something you can tag ASP.net with. For a simple system like this either system will do. PHP does have a performance advantage over ASP.net, but you won't notice this on such a low level project.
Brad Australian - Christian Graus on "Best books for VBscript" A big thick one, so you can whack yourself on the head with it.
Thanks, did not know that. I have been looking at the mootools site and they seem to have some nice code for this sort of stuff, so I might not need much server side stuff in the mix.
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning." -- Rich Cook
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I've actually found using mootools that Ajaxy stuff becomes incredibly easy. - Look at the example I posted - you basically just add an event to the form that intercepts the regular submit, and sends the submit via ajax instead, piping the output from the server side php into the div of your choice on the existing page. To chain a set of pages, all you'd need to do is have each form submit the load of the next form, and refresh the main div on the page.
-- Help me! I'm turning into a grapefruit! Buzzwords!
That sounds quite nice (the AJAX demos look quite nifty). I assume that the server could run ASP.NET or PHP?
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning." -- Rich Cook
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Thanks, did not know that. I have been looking at the mootools site and they seem to have some nice code for this sort of stuff, so I might not need much server side stuff in the mix.
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning." -- Rich Cook