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ColdFusion MX Installation and Basic Testing

“ColdFusion” (all one word) is server-side processing software made by Macromedia that allows developers to write rapid developed, database driven applications through a tag-based syntax language.  “Cold Fusion” (two words) is the dream for a renewable, safer energy source.   

In this article, we’re going to work with ColdFusion MX and perform the following tasks:

·         Install ColdFusion MX (free Developer Edition)
·         Review the ColdFusion Administrator
·         Setting up a ColdFusion MX site in Dreamweaver MX 2004
·         Creating ColdFusion variables
·         Displaying ColdFusion variables
·         Use ColdFusion Functions
·         Commenting your code

These are the basic tasks necessary to set-up your working development environment for future work as well as learn some basic ColdFusion skills.

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Generating PDF files with PHP: Pt. 2

In the first part of this tutorial we looked at how to create a new page, and add text, tables and images using the EZPDF class from R & OS Ltd.

Using this class makes it easier to perform certain functions with only a few lines of code. In this tutorial we are going to look at using the PDF base class, which allows much more control over the output sent to the PDF reader, specifically looking at the drawing commands to add basic graphics to the page.

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Generating PDF Files with PHP: Pt. 1

In this multi-article series Gareth is going to look at creating PDF files using PHP via the use of a free code library from R & OS Ltd.

This approach offers several benefits over using the PDFLib that is bundled with PHP (namely the R&OS code library is free for commercial use and doesn't involve the installation of non-widely accepted modules on the PHP server).

In this first article Gareth considers the basics of this approach – downloading and setting up the PHP classes and creating simple PDF files, with basic output of text, images and tables. As the series progresses he'll be looking at creating more complex PDF files with graphics created on the fly, and other dynamic effects.

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PHP/MySQL Articles on DMXzone

Bewildered by the depth of our PHP articles? Confused by the range and scope? Perturbed by the DMXzone browsing system (don't worry that's high on the agenda in the next redesign)?

Well hopefully this laundry list of the DMXzone premium content articles covering the areas of PHP, MySQL and a few related topics will be of great assistance the next time you're looking for a nugget of PHP knowledge.

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Setting up a PHP Site & MySQL Connection in Dreamweaver MX

In this tutorial we're going back to basics, or rather making sure we can really get to grips with the basics, as we look at how to set up a site definition for a PHP site in Dreamweaver MX and then see how we can connect to a MySQL database residing on our web hosts server. 

We'll be starting by understanding the theory behind how Dreamweaver acceses remote MySQL installations (the process Dreamweaver MX uses to connect to the MySQL server isn't as straightforward as most people think, as its designed to get round a number of security limitations which are often in force on web hosting accounts).

Armed with that knowledge we'll then set about making sure our site configuration is appropriate before we attempt to make a connection. After walking through the steps required, we'll also look at a few common errors you may encounter.

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Building an XML Flash Application with PHP and MySQL Pt.II

In this second article of the series, we'll be building the front-end of the web-site for our imaginary Pet Store client. Here we'll be seeing how we can feed the data we've pulled from the MySQL based back-end we developed in the first article, into a Flash based interface.

Our interface will make use of various Flash components, including the Flash MX 2004 XML Connector, which will be required to pull the XML out from our PHP pages and into our front-end.

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Building an XML Flash Application with PHP and MySQL Pt.I

In this two part series, Gareth is going to show us how to build a Flash application to display information stored in a MySQL database. Building on the XML tutorials he's recently published, this application will use PHP and XML to transfer the data from database to front-end.

The scenario is that our client has a Pet Store containing exotic animals and wants an application to display the animals available for sale, along with a quick description of them. This week we'll be looking firstly at the back-end of the application – that is the database, then we'll move onto the processing logic - the PHP pages and the form of the XML data we're transferring around.

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A PHP Based Opinion Poll: Pt. II

In last week's article we started building an opinion poll system using a pair of MySQL tables to store our polls’ questions and results, and PHP to interface between the web browser and the database. We built the database tables and a basic admin system to create new polls and questions within them.

In today’s article we’re going to finish off our admin section and build the front end to the poll so that users of your web site can vote.

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A PHP Based Opinion Poll Pt.I

In today's article we're going to take a look at the steps involved in designing and building your own PHP based opinion poll for your site. You know the kind of thing I mean – in a sidebar area you see a couple of options you can choose from; you choose the one you want and click Vote, after which you can see how many other people made the same bad choice you did. 

What we're going to investigate is an easy way for you to create and administer your own polls using a MySQL database. We'll look at what tables we need to create and why, how to build an administration system for it so that we can quickly create new polls, and a way of building the front-end for users to vote, capturing that vote and displaying the results.

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PHP and XML #4: RSS Feeds

In this tutorial, we're going to look at processing RSS feeds, so we can take feeds from other websites, and add them to our own.  

First, we'll look at what RSS is, and the format that an RSS feed used. We'll then look at how to read in an RSS feed from another site, and how to process the XML data contained using PHP and its SAX parser. Finally, we'll look at how to display the data extracted from the feed, formatted using CSS.

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PHP and XML #3: WDDX

In the first part of this tutorial series, we looked at XML the technology – saw what it was, and how a valid XML document in formed. In the second part we looked at how to process XML using SAX, to read XML and use the information, or to translate it into different formats such as HTML.

 We're now going to start looking at various uses of XML and the various different technologies available on the web that utilize XML. In this tutorial we're going to look at Web Distributed Data eXchange (WDDX).

Getting a handle on this technology can be enormously useful - for example by using the WDDX format for data you can send an array constructed on one page using a Perl CGI Script off for processing on a page using PHP.

In this tutorial we'll find out a bit more about the basics of WDDX before we start working with it practically.

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PHP and XML #2: Processing XML Documents

In the first part of this tutorial series on PHP and XML, we looked at what XML is, and how to create a valid XML file. In this tutorial, we're going to look at processing XML documents. First, we are going to look at the different methods of processing XML, using either SAX (Simple API for XML) or DOM (Document Object Model).

We are then going to look in more detail at the SAX method of processing, creating an XML file to work with, and then creating the PHP code required to translate the XML into HTML so that it can be displayed in any browser.

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