[ediec4]

Hie everyone

Please help, I have to come up with a database of students that will be able to track the students' progress,i.e how many passed,failed, how many passed after first sitting ,after a resit etc. The thing is this has to be viewable(if such a word exists!) in a website sort of environment. People should be able to log on in some form of browser and still be able to view the data. am not a very advanced developer therefore need help with the following : Is there any application like I was thinking Visual studio or something like that where I can combine both web and data development in one? Or do I have to do the db and website separately then combine them later if so how????? Thanks

[Regicide]

Since you are not a guru at DB or coding, I would go the simplest route (in my opinion) by doing a webserver with php that interacts with MySQL (database). If you don't know how either works, this could be a daunting task.

I personally haven't used Visual Studio in a few years, they MIGHT have a web-based environment. I am pretty sure that ASP.net can interact with MySQL or whatever Windoze's proprietary database software is.

[artur02]

http://databases.about.com/od/tutori...dynamicweb.htm
Check this article. They use a Microsoft Access database published on the web.

If it's not enough for you, you can try e.g. Microsoft InfoPath or you can create an own homepage using PHP or ASP.NET. It seems you are not a programmer, so I recommend you to generate the page with a tool and don't write your own homepage. If you write your own page without the proper knowledge that can be a very high security risk for your machine and users.

[mattvot]

I agree, MySQL is the easiest but still complex database that will be perfect for your needs,

However PHP is just as good, if you know how to write it. There are plenty of guides on the web for PHP beginers.

My personal prefrence is PHP because you can customise it with alot more details and make websites and clients that respond to the PHP easier.

I would sum up .php as a server-based files that can modify themselves automaticaly or through forms online or by a clients. When a browser makes a request to the server, PHP puts together a HTML like page for the browser to view.

It is important to note that .php files do not have to be webpages, they can just store variables, ideal for databases.

good luck

[ediec4]

thanks everyone will go with MySQL checked it out and I think will do for now