Web Coding

Navigation → Home > Etcetera > Techology > Web Coding  |  Next page → Parallel

Page Contents

1. PHP Frameworks
2. Content Management Systems (CMS)
3. Linux and Open Source
4. Linux, Apache, Security
5. PHP Programming
6. Python Programming
7. SQL Databases
8. WYSIWYG editing tools
9. Mozilla and XUL applications
10. Javascript, including AJAX
11. Wiki Syntax

1. PHP Frameworks

To save re-inventing the car, let alone the wheel (and assuming that their kind of car is what you really want), numerous bundles of pre-written code are available to save you time -- once you find a good one and learn its worldview.

Askeet Advent Calendar — An exceptional development tutorial, using the Symfony framework in PHP.

http://www.symfony-project.com/askeet

Cake PHP — A PHP5 framework based on the extraordinary Ruby on Rails architecture.

http://cakephp.org/

Seagull Project — A PHP4/5 framework built on the PEAR libraries.

http://seagullproject.org/docs/

2. Content Management Systems (CMS)

Free, open source packages for managing web design and web content, including portals, polls, syndicated news, etc, etc.

Acura site cms — Accura Content Management System allowing your clients to manage and edit their website content anytime and anywhere. Using intuitive and familiar Ms-Word Processing type interfaces. It's ideal for anyone who does site content maintenance to their clients.

Accura Site Content Management System

Blog Software Breakdown — A point-by-point comparison of ten leading weblog systems.

http://www.asymptomatic.net/blogbreakdown.htm

CMS Matrix — A site for comparing and rating Content Management Systems

http://cmsmatrix.org/

CMS Matrix — from OSCOM, a list of the major Open Source Content Management systems

http://www.oscom.org/matrix/index.html

Open Source CMS — CMS systems which (1) are open source, (2) install without requiring root permission on a server, and (3) run in PHP/MySQL.

http://www.opensourcecms.com/

PHP WIki — Wiki's are some of the most popular web knowledgebase solutions, well suited to generating documentation. Here's a PHP Wiki solution.

http://phpwiki.sourceforge.net/phpwiki/

PHPWebSite — stylish Nuke derivative from Appalachia State University

http://phpwebsite.appstate.edu/

WordPress — Good open-source web publishing tool; considered a competitor for the popular Moveable Type.

http://wordpress.org/

3. Linux and Open Source

Linux is free software in two senses:  Firstly, it doesn't necessarily cost you anything to use (though there are commercial packages like which make it more user-friendly).  Secondly, and most importantly, it allows you to freely modify it by making its program code publicly available — hence the term ‘open source’. 

How to become a Hacker — by Eric S. Raymond.

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html

ITWorld's Linux links page — sizable but selective; these are the best sites

http://www.itworld.com/Comp/2384/LWDlinuxlinks/

Linux Weekly News — THE source

http://www.lwn.net

The Cathedral and the Bazaar — The online version of the classic book by Eric S. Raymond.

http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/

The Open Source Definition 'OSD' — by Bruce Perens

http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition_plain.php

4. Linux, Apache, Security

Apache Documentation — web server info

http://httpd.apache.org/docs/

Debian — a very comprehensive Linux distribution; 7 CDs and counting

http://www.debian.org

debian help for system administrator — This website is aimed at providing simple and easy help, tips and tricks and valuable support articles to Debian user community ranging from beginners to Experts.

http://www.debianhelp.co.uk

DebianHelp.Org — for new users

http://www.debianhelp.org/

Desktop Linux — is what it says it is

http://www.desktoplinux.com/

Desktop themes — some objectionable

http://www.themes.org/

Everything Linux — books, CDROMs, software, hardware

http://www.everythinglinux.com.au

Everything Linux — Linux goods and services, Australia

http://www.everythinglinux.com.au

GNOME — the second of the two main Linux desktops

http://www.gnome.org/

KDE — the original and currently the best, though lots of Gnome users dispute that

http://www.kde.org

Lankum.com — another Australian Linux store; CD's, etc

http://www.lankum.com/

Linux Cookbook — from the Linux Documentation Project, tips on everything

http://tldp.org/LDP/linuxcookbook/html/index.html

Linux How-To's — topical index, Linux Documentation Project

http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/HOWTO-INDEX/categories.html

Linux Software Map — is what it says

http://www.boutell.com/lsm/lsmsubject.html

Linux Weekly News — Linux and open source news

http://www.lwn.net

LinuxArtist.Org — Central resource for creatives using Linux on the desktop

http://www.linuxartist.org

LinuxSA — South Australia; meets monthly; mailing list

http://www.linuxsa.org.au

Linuxworld — Australian Linux news source

http://linuxworld.com.au/

LYX - a WYSIWYM editor — 'What you see is what you mean'; basically a LaTeX wordprocessor for Linux / Windows

http://www.lyx.org

MacSSH — Like PuTTY; a very secure terminal program (Macintosh)

http://pro.wanadoo.fr/chombier/MacSSH/SSH_info.html

Mandrake — a Linux distribution often recommended for new users

http://www.mandrakelinux.com

Open Office — word processor, spreadsheet, database, etc

http://www.openoffice.org/

PuTTY — PC telnet program;  good for remote shell access

http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/

Security and Apache: An Essential Primer — at LinuxPlanet

http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/tutorials/1527/1

Security Focus — major portal and news site

http://www.securityfocus.com/

Soothingly Seamless Setup — of Apache, SSH, PHP and MySQL (DevShed)

http://www.devshed.com/Server_Side/PHP/SoothinglySeamless/

Source Forge — Open Source Projects

http://www.sourceforge.org/

Sword Project, The — Open source Bible software for Windows and Linux.  Support their copyright campaign for permission to freely distribute the best modern translations.

http://www.crosswire.org/sword/

Sydney Linux User Group — meets monthly, UTS

http://www.slug.org.au

The GIMP — graphics

http://www.gimp.org/

The Linux Cookbook: Tips and Techniques for Everyday Use — a comprehensive how-to-do-stuff for Linux

http://www.dsl.org/cookbook/cookbook_toc.html

The Linux Migration Guide — getting started on Linux systems

http://www.linuxmigration.com/quickref/

WWW Security FAQ — at the W3C

http://www.w3.org/Security/Faq/www-security-faq.html

5. PHP Programming

MySQL and PostgreSQL are two leading open source database solutions. MySQL is simpler and more efficient (for web stuff, arguably), PostgreSQL is more powerful and complex (though MySQL is catching up, arguably) — Just stay out of database arguments, is my advice.

Python, PHP and PERL (in order of increasing complexity) are programming languages useful for web coding. PHP is best for dynamic websites (check if your web host supports it — most now do).  The Python links have moved to this page.

ActiveState Programmer Network — Perl and Python; reference and downloads

http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Reference/

Building PHP Web Services with PEAR — PEAR is the best PHP Code Repository project.

http://www.devchannel.org/webserviceschannel/04/02/11/1432220.shtml

CodeWalkers — great PHP / SQL resource

http://www.codewalkers.com

CRASHME: Database Server Features Comparison — lets you do an side-by-side analysis of database servers, both commercial and open source

http://www.mysql.com/information/features.html

FlashMX and PHP — tutorial at Macromedia

http://www.macromedia.com/desdev/mx/flash/articles/flashmx_php.html

freecap - PHP CAPTCHA script — A better image-distorting captcha generator

http://www.puremango.co.uk/cm_php_captcha_script_113.php

Horde Projects — quality OS code libraries

http://www.horde.org/projects.php

Hotscripts: PHP — couple of thousand free scripts

http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Scripts_and_Programs/

HWgCw23cqg — Hi! Very nice site! Thanks you very much! sF2z3CBSiRwu

HWgCw23cqg

Implementing Patterns in PHP — ... only two, but a good introduction.

http://www.developer.com/design/article.php/3345121

MySQL Function List — all operators

http://www.mysql.com/doc/functions.html

PERL — official site;  massively informative

http://www.perl.com

PERL Archive — Comprehensive Perl Archive Network

http://www.cpan.org/

PHP — official site — well designed! — great function reference

http://www.php.net

PHP Captcha Script — From White Hat Web Design

http://www.white-hat-web-design.co.uk/articles/php-captcha.php

PHP Class hn_captcha — Lovely captcha generator.

http://www.nogajski.de/horst/php/captcha/

PHP Classes — when you're ready for object-oriented coding

http://phpclasses.upperdesign.com/browse.html

PHP Code Exchange — free, categorized PHP code

http://px.sklar.com/

PHP Directory — Open Directory Project

http://dmoz.org/Computers/Programming/Languages/PHP/

PHP Examples and Tutorials — at the PHP Resource Index

http://php.resourceindex.com/Documentation/Examples_and_Tutorials/

PHP Excel Reader — Probably the best current way to parse XLS files in PHP (Aug 2004)

http://optusnet.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/phpexcelreader/Spreadsheet_Excel_Reader.zip

PHP Tutorials — at Zend;  beginner to advanced

http://www.zend.com/zend/tut/

PHP.FAQTS Knowledgebase — fabulous resource

http://www.faqts.com/knowledge_base/index.phtml/fid/51/

Porter's Stemming Algorithm in PHP — reducing English words to their stems, helpful for searching

http://www.tartarus.org/~martin/PorterStemmer/php.txt

Recommended PHP Reading List — ... from IBM. Looks good.

http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/opensource/library/os-php-read/

The PHP Scalability Myth — PHP scales. There, I said it.

http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/2003/10/15/php_scalability.html

Unit Testing in PHP + Tutorials — The 'JUnit' testing methodology from Java, applied to PHP, with some friendly tutorials.

http://www.lastcraft.com/index.php

Writing Socket Servers in PHP — from Zend; good examples.

http://www.zend.com/pecl/tutorials/sockets.php

XML Transformer — expat-style XML parsing in PHP without XSLT

http://www.phpfreaks.com/pear_manual/page/packages.xml.xml_transformer.html

6. Python Programming

It's good; but don't listen to me -- listen to Yoda:

Code! Yes. A programmer's strength flows from code maintainability. But beware of Perl. Terse syntax... more than one way to do it... default variables. The dark side of code maintainability are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you when code you write. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will.

For historical reasons, many of these links refer to MUD coding.

Amit's Python Stuff — This guy wrote a lot of Python MOO code; here it all is.

http://theory.stanford.edu/~amitp/Python/

Charming Python: Iterators and Generators — A short introduction to some of the most elegant features of Python 2.2

The ‘Christians Are Bastards’ argument is a particularly good illustration of this asymmetry: 1) CT involves more than a belief

FAQ for the #python IRC channels — read this before posting a question to eg. irc://freenode/#python

http://twistedmatrix.com/users/jh.twistd/python/moin.cgi/PythonFaq

Perl/Python Phrasebook — translating from one to the other

http://starship.python.net/~da/jak/cookbook.html

PyGame — a game programming toolset and community for the Python language

http://www.pygame.org/

Python Cookbook — reviewed code repository

http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Python/Cookbook/

Python FAQ Wizard — a very friendly search page for the Python FAQ

http://www.python.org/cgi-bin/faqw.py

Python Sockets HOWTO — pyDoc at Sourceforge

http://py-howto.sourceforge.net/sockets/sockets.html

Python Tutorial — ‘Instant Python’ for beginners

http://www.hetland.org/python/instant-python.php

Python's MySQLdb functions — for DB access

http://linux.uni-regensburg.de/mnt-usr/share/doc/python-mysqldb/MySQLdb-3.html

Python's Official Online Documentation — python.org is homepage of the Python language. Downloads, tutorials, everything -- and good documentation!

http://www.python.org/doc/current

Pythonic MOO — A Python implementation of LambdaMOO by Joes Strout, lots of useful code, really terrible acronym...

http://www.strout.net/python/poo/index.html

SimPyMud — Simple Python MUD. Incomplete, probably abandoned, but some useful code.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/simpymud

Unit Testing in Python — shades of eXtreme Programming; saves a lot of hassle later

http://diveintopython.org/roman_divein.html

Vaults Of Parnassus — Python code repository; apps, examples, etc

http://www.vex.net/parnassus/

Why Python? — by Eric S. Raymond: My second [surprise] came a couple of hours into the project, when I noticed (allowing for pauses needed to look up new features in Programming Python) I was generating working code nearly as fast as I could type. When I realized this, I was quite startled.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=3882

Writing servers in Twisted Python — This looks promising... the Twisted framework was originally developed for a MUD, though it's more generalized now.

http://twistedmatrix.com/documents/howto/servers

7. SQL Databases

Hierarchical SQL — The greatest weakness of SQL is the trouble it has with hierarchies or trees.

http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2004/08/05/hierarchical_sql.html

Linux Graphical SQL Mangement, Form Design and RAD Tools — out of date (June 2003), but a useful list

http://linas.org/linux/db-rad.html

MySQL Sites — Open Directory Project

http://dmoz.org/Computers/Software/Databases/MySQL/

PL/PgSQL Cookbook — PostgreSQL's internal coding language

http://www.brasileiro.net:8080/postgres/cookbook/

Postgres vs. MySQL — a list of the extra features in Postgres, compared to MySQL

http://www.wlug.org.nz/PostgresVsMysql

PostgreSQL Technical Documentation — official site, documentation, archives

http://techdocs.postgresql.org/

PostgreSQL Tutorial — the official one

http://www.ninthwonder.com/info/postgres/tutorial/book01.htm

Practical PostgreSQL — The complete O'Reilly book, online

http://www.commandprompt.com/ppbook/

Python module for Postgres — using the Postgres Database from Python

http://www.bel-epa.com/pyapache/Python/postgres/

SQL for Web Nerds — by Philip Greenspun; great intro

http://philip.greenspun.com/sql/

TECHLINQ Postgres Listing — ...lots of good-quality links

http://home.wanadoo.nl/techlinq/postgresql.html

8. WYSIWYG editing tools

In most people's view of the perfect world, editing a web page would be just like using a word processor… we're not quite there yet, but the situation is improving. Still, as of April 2004 all the browser-based editing solutions are either glitchy or produce bad X/HTML. At this rate, projects like Mozile or Composite (and other solutions which allow the browser, a browser extension, or an external program to handle X/HTML editing), will probably come of age sooner than Java/Flash based editors will.

HTMLArea -- THE online editor — One of the best open source options.

http://dynarch.com/mishoo/htmlarea.epl

Web based WYSIWYG text editors — A list of all the important ones, helpfully categorized.

http://www.bris.ac.uk/is/projects/cms/ttw/ttw.html

9. Mozilla and XUL applications

Creating applications with Mozilla — The online version of the O'Reilly book on building web-deliverable, platform-independent applications with XUL (instead of Java or .Net).

http://books.mozdev.org/chapters/index.html

XUL tutorial — from XULplanet; comprehensive

http://www.xulplanet.com/tutorials/xultu/

10. Javascript, including AJAX

Filter Large HTML Select List using JavaScript Regexp Regular Expressions — An excellent forms simplification script; GPL license

http://www.barelyfitz.com/projects/filterlist/index.php/all

SAJAX — A set of AJAX tools for PHP

http://www.modernmethod.com/sajax/

11. Wiki Syntax

reStructuredTextMarkup — Not a Wiki markup, but interesting.

http://docutils.sourceforge.net/docs/ref/rst/restructuredtext.html

RFCWiki — A truly abominable Wiki standard syntax proposed for RFC consideration.

http://tikiwiki.org/tiki-index.php?page=RFCWiki

WikiMarkupStandard — A collection of markup ideas, with some evaluation.

http://www.usemod.com/cgi-bin/mb.pl?WikiMarkupStandard