A Small Social Networking Site.... as a part of college project

[klusk 0]

hey friends... I wish to create a small social networking site (as a part of my college project),

 

i want to create a site where people can log in , have their accounts ,send messages to friends

and a few more things if possible...basically i want to illustrate database management...

 

It won't have many people logged in... just a few to illustrate how it works... ie how the database works

 

now let me be clear about what i know and what i don't.

i can create web pages and use java script...and i know that's not enough.....and that's not even close.

and i can program well in other languages like C\C++,visual basic...well i don't know if its of any use really

but i have enough time and i can learn new things n languages if needed for the project.

 

I want to know 3 things :

 

1> what all services are needed for such a site running databases and a lot more...

2> Languages and other things that i need to learn.

3> Most importantly,can Xisto run a website like this or i need to find some other host...

 

 

I had got free space on Xisto months ago....but i haven't used it much as yet....as i didnt feel the need to do so.

but now i have a good reason to use it if i can.

again...i am just doing it for illustration purposes..it wont take much space and bandwidth..

 

please reply soon as i need to submit the idea at the earliest.

Edited July 20, 2008 by klusk (see edit history)

[bsdpowa 0]

Dear optimistic friend, your knowledge of Javascript and "how to use websites" is far far away from what it's required to know in order for a programmer to code a social community system. You're looking at a heavy skill level of PHP and database programming so if you don't master PHP, I would really advise you from trying to do something like this on your own unless your goal here is learning web programming.

Please go to Google and type in "social community script". You'll get this, a list of most popular scripts used for online communities such as the one you're trying to build from scratch.

If you have 600$ laying around, you should take a look at AbleSpace but if you're broke or just looking for a cheap'o'rama take a look here. Boonex offers Dolphin for free. Dolphin is most popular FREE software among webmasters and I'm sure you wouldn't have any trouble starting with it.

Here's a list of technical requirements for running Dolphin.

- Dolphin requires at least 20Mb of space and 1Mb of MySQL DB space for installation.- Your host must have any Linux/Unix OS (RedHat, Debian, FreeBSD, Mandrake, etc). NOTE: SAFE_MODE must be OFF, register_globals must be OFF.
- Or Windows OS with Apache Web Server, MySQL and PHP (WAMP).
- PHP version 4.3.6 and higher with XML and XSL extensions and with mbstring support, exec() must be allowed, allow_url_fopen must be On;
- MySQL version 4.1.2 and higher;
- ImageMagick (for photos resize) or GD Library as an alternative;
- Cron Jobs (Shell access (SSH) or other access to set Cron Jobs (CPanel, Plesk)) for Linux platforms.

Now I haven't been here in years so I can't tell you whether Xisto hosting is configured to run Dolphin, you should ask admins or mods about that, but I know you'll have a hard time running the website when your user database grows. It's okay when you have couple of members but when that number passes few hundred you'll find yourself in deep sh*t. Shared hosting is not meant to host large websites with complicated structure that eats a lot of resources, you'll have to find yourself a nice VPS (I would strongly suggest Wiredtree, not a single negative review in years of VPS hosting) or Dedicated server for that matter.

Now the question is what are you trying to do here? Are you just playing around or do you want to get serious with your website? If you're just experimenting I say go with Xisto but if you plan to grow your "myspace" start off with a VPS right now because moving complete portal systems can be a pain in the *bottom*. I know for sure, trust me.

Anyway, good luck on your project.

[klusk 0]

Thanx a lot for ur replyi am experimenting with it, there wont be more than 10-15 people on this website.. as i told u it is just to illustrate how the website works .....it wont take much space .Secondly, I wish to learn web programming ...and now i have a reason to learn it .....no matter if its PHP or Mysql or any other database programming...i have a lot of time to do it...so just tell me.....and please let me know if Xisto can run such a project..... because i don't have account at any other host..and i don't wish to spend much money on it...

Edited July 20, 2008 by klusk (see edit history)

[bittr 0]

bsdpowa was a bit to discouraging to you.

I think you can fastly make a small social networking site just with some PHP and MySQL.
PHP is actually quite easy for the basic stuff, you can find a good tutorial here, including how to connect to and use MySQL.

And if you say you know C++ and JavaScript, you'll find the PHP syntax quite similar and easy to use.

About hosting, Xisto has already set up PHP support and MySQL databases, so it's perferct.

Have fun!

Edited July 20, 2008 by bittr (see edit history)

[sonesay 7]

Well PHP and MySQL is enough to do what you want, The only problem you have will be the experience and skill to write your own little community software. Even if you make one it may or maybe be filled with bugs and not function correctly as you intended. You have to be good and designing and building such software for it to be an easy task. I say go for it, you will learn a lot just by trying and doing. If you have any questions just post them but I think before you even start you need a good solid grounding in PHP first so go get a good book on PHP.

[klusk 0]

thanx a lot sonesay and bittr ... I am feeling better now...i'll go for it...i'll learn PHP and Mysql...and for the tough part...i think i will get all the help i want here...In the meantime help is appreciated and i'll keep reading the thread....

Edited July 20, 2008 by klusk (see edit history)

[minimcmonkey 0]

Yes, your right about HTML and javascript not being enough. I would recoment PHP, Mysqul, and most likely ASP. You will need to be absolutely fluent in PHP and Mysql atleast, as social networking site normally have many people working on just small parts of the sites. Its a very ambitious project, but if your willing to put time into it, it can be done to a certain level! Rememeber that javascript and HTML will not do anything in an automated fassion, you need code that takes input from the user, and then writes to your database. (so PHP and Mysql are ideal) Although javascript is very useful if used correctly, but often just for dynamic content, and other non user specific type things.

[klusk 0]

hey i have VB.net in our course later....so please tell me if that would be of any use in it.....i know nothing about it as yet...

 

i have a partner in the project too....so he can study VB.net if needed.......

 

tell me if it can be used....and what all things it can be used for....

Edited July 20, 2008 by klusk (see edit history)

[sonesay 7]

I'm doing another tier paper in web development at my university this semester and apparently we are using ASP so it would be good to know a bit about another scripting language. I read over some notes yesterday and its written using VB and that is fully OOP so it should be interesting. The only problem is finding a ASP host. You have IIS on windows XP Pro and some other variants to test on if your building it locally.

[etycto 0]

a long while ago i tried a social networking script it was clled elgg(https://elgg.org/) it installed fine on Xisto and has a lot of features but it had some small issues with this PHP warning on top. it has a new verson out now so it might have fixed this issue.P.S. if you'd like some help i'd like to help