Forms are the engine that drive user interactivity on the Web. We see them everywhere — they are the meat of eCommerce Web sites and online surveys, and simple versions of forms are common on “Contact Us” pages. Some forms are easy to make, using basic HTML, online form builders, or plugins for platforms like WordPress. But there are other applications for Web forms — including some applications for which you might not initially think a form is the answer — that require a custom solution with custom programming. This article describes a project in which we created a form-based system for generating contracts for a private school’s Independent Study Program. This system, housed within the existing password-protected Intranet/Administrative area of the school’s Web site, automates and streamlines the process of generating contracts, minimizing the need for manual calculations and eliminating most, if not all, of the opportunities for user error.
MySQL
MySQL: Update table using subquery, Excel data
Here’s a snippet of SQL code and a procedure for updating a MySQL database table using a subquery and data from Microsoft Excel (or similar). Perhaps you could adapt this solution to your own situation.
Case Study: Emergency Notice Banner for Hybrid Web site
In December of 2012, in anticipation of school closings, late openings, or early dismissals due to extreme weather, the head of Eaton Academy asked me to implement an emergency announcement banner that would appear on all pages of Eaton’s Web site. The challenge was that the Web site is a hybrid: the main section of the site was custom built, while the blog section was built on WordPress. This case study describes the approach we took to solve the problem. I think this project is a good example of how easily WordPress can be hooked into.
How to create 323 unique landing pages with Pretty URLs – from just one page
The Challenge nSiteful Client Jay Maurice operates a music instruction business called Lessons In Your Home. At this writing, the business has over 200 active music teachers in eight major U.S. markets. Jay wanted to optimize his email marketing and pay-per-click advertising campaigns by having a customized landing page for each market and each instrument […]
PHP OOP Virtual Study Group?
Any takers? Lemme explain. I’m trying to dive into OOP in PHP. If you are, too – or if you happen to enjoy teaching others what you already know – maybe this is for you.
PHP, MySQL: Get From Foreigner (utility function)
How to get the value of a foreign key in your PHP/MySQL applications.