my new site - design help

kkiely.RemoveThis@aol.comnojunk (Kkiely) wrote:

 > The problem is, if i want to change my logo of something or make a
 > small change then i have to change all 51 files manually.

Modern page editors let you do global edits.
Or, you could learn ASP.

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Kkiely wrote:
 > My new site is <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.HomePokerGames.com" target="_blank">www.HomePokerGames.com</a> . The first screen shows all games
 > for all states but i am going to get it up so you c an click on a state and
 > have the games for that state come up.
 > Assuming I dont use frames, I am going to have to create 50 different HTML
 > files for wach state. I don't mind doing this because it is a quick cut and
 > paste job. The problem is, if i want to change my logo of something or make a
 > small change then i have to change all 51 files manually. Is there a way to
 > make it so that everything above the navigation bar is controlled by 1 set of
 > code? Can CSS be used to do this?

Preprocessor or server side page
generation is an easy way to go.

But if you're telling us you already
have all the info on the opening page --
the page is not that huge. Why don't
you just use internal links:

at top of page:
<a href="#Kentucky">
Kentucky
</a>

just before Kentucky entry:
<a id="Kentucky">
</a>

.....and you have a menu entry into the
same page without having to write any
new html files.

m<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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But if you're telling us you already
have all the info on the opening page --
the page is not that huge. Why don't
you just use internal links:
***************
because it has only been up 2 weeks. It will be 10 times this size in a year
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In article <20030821112419.11853.00000588 RemoveThis @mb-m11.aol.com>, Kkiely
says...
 > My new site is <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.HomePokerGames.com" target="_blank">www.HomePokerGames.com</a> . The first screen shows all games
 > for all states but i am going to get it up so you c an click on a state and
 > have the games for that state come up.
 > Assuming I dont use frames, I am going to have to create 50 different HTML
 > files for wach state. I don't mind doing this because it is a quick cut and
 > paste job. The problem is, if i want to change my logo of something or make a
 > small change then i have to change all 51 files manually. Is there a way to
 > make it so that everything above the navigation bar is controlled by 1 set of
 > code? Can CSS be used to do this?

Not CSS but SSI, if you want to do it that way.

You'd be better redoing the whole thing with a database backend, to be
honest.

Make your front page a PHP or ASP script and the menu links pull up
tables from the database.

It'd be a lot easier to add/remove games and you could alter your
menu/logo through a single file.

HTH

--
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<<Not CSS but SSI, if you want to do it that way. You'd be better redoing the
whole thing with a database backend, to be honest.
Make your front page a PHP or ASP script and the menu links pull up tables
from the database.>>

I figured some type of database would be better, but I just learned HTML
last week and want to get the page up by next week so the database might be a
long-term project.
The include file thing is probably the way to go. Is there any downside
to using PHP? Is PHP one of these tools where i have to worry about web users
having the right browser, etc?
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In article <20030821124926.11710.00000534 RemoveThis @mb-m11.aol.com>, Kkiely
says...

 > I figured some type of database would be better, but I just learned HTML
 > last week and want to get the page up by next week so the database might be a
 > long-term project.

In that case, I'd go with Eric's suggestion for the time being. A global
search and replace in a text editor will make the task easier. As Eric
says though, this method isn't great long-term.

 > The include file thing is probably the way to go. Is there any downside
 > to using PHP? Is PHP one of these tools where i have to worry about web users
 > having the right browser, etc?

Not at all. PHP, ASP and CGI are what's know as Sever Side. They run on
the server, sending results to the browser. No processing is done on a
user's system.

The opposite is Client Side, like JavaScript, which relies on the client
having the right software installed and running.

Writing a PHP script using a MySQL database to do what you need isn't
difficult, and can include lots of cool features like searches, but data
entry can be really time consuming in the short run.

--
Daniel Ruscoe
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Kkiely wrote:
 >
 > Assuming I dont use frames, I am going to have to create 50 different HTML
 > files for wach state. I don't mind doing this because it is a quick cut and
 > paste job. The problem is, if i want to change my logo of something or make a
 > small change then i have to change all 51 files manually. Is there a way to
 > make it so that everything above the navigation bar is controlled by 1 set of
 > code? Can CSS be used to do this?
 >

no you don't

first...you need a text/html editor that does
find/replace...most of the good ones do...I use
Arachnophilia usually which is fine for find/replace on
that sort of scale...you shou;d be able to find one for
free

in the longer term when you have the money to pay for a
higher quality host for the site then you can get on to
SSI (server side includes) which will allow you to
include one file in another...at which point you will be
able to change all the common content by changing a
single file...but this requires cgi access which I'd
guess you don't have on a cheap hosting plan

--
eric
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Daniel Ruscoe wrote:
 > In article <20030821112419.11853.00000588 DeleteThis @mb-m11.aol.com>, Kkiely
 > says...
  > > My new site is <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.HomePokerGames.com" target="_blank">www.HomePokerGames.com</a> . The first screen shows all games
  > > for all states but i am going to get it up so you c an click on a state and
  > > have the games for that state come up.
  > > Assuming I dont use frames, I am going to have to create 50 different HTML
  > > files for wach state. I don't mind doing this because it is a quick cut and
  > > paste job. The problem is, if i want to change my logo of something or make a
  > > small change then i have to change all 51 files manually. Is there a way to
  > > make it so that everything above the navigation bar is controlled by 1 set of
  > > code? Can CSS be used to do this?
 >
 > Not CSS but SSI, if you want to do it that way.
 >
 > You'd be better redoing the whole thing with a database backend, to be
 > honest.
 >
 > Make your front page a PHP or ASP script and the menu links pull up
 > tables from the database.
 >
 > It'd be a lot easier to add/remove games and you could alter your
 > menu/logo through a single file.
 >
 > HTH
 >

in the long term that's the way he should go...at present
the idea seems to be to get the site running on a low
cost hosting deal whilst it builds traffic...I think that
is sensible

in which case once the site becomes too large to deal
with using find/replace it will already be on a more
expensive hosting deal with cgi access

--
eric
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.ericjarvis.co.uk" target="_blank">www.ericjarvis.co.uk</a>
"Hey Lord don't ask me questions
There ain't no answer in me"<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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Kkiely wrote:

 > My new site is <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.HomePokerGames.com" target="_blank">www.HomePokerGames.com</a> . The first screen shows all games
 > for all states but i am going to get it up so you c an click on a state and
 > have the games for that state come up.
 > Assuming I dont use frames, I am going to have to create 50 different HTML
 > files for wach state. I don't mind doing this because it is a quick cut and
 > paste job. The problem is, if i want to change my logo of something or make a
 > small change then i have to change all 51 files manually. Is there a way to
 > make it so that everything above the navigation bar is controlled by 1 set of
 > code? Can CSS be used to do this?

I do it with
<? include "menu.html"; ?>

You just write this where you would have put all the
navigation code, and you put that navigation code in a file
called menu.html, but your server has to support php, and
your file (or 51 files ) should have extension .php
instead of .html


--
Els

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I hear alot about MySQL-based sites being unstable. I know for a fact that this
has alot to do with people being signed up with cheap web-hosting companies,
but do you think stability is an issue?
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Kkiely wrote:
 > I hear alot about MySQL-based sites being unstable. I know for a fact that this
 > has alot to do with people being signed up with cheap web-hosting companies,
 > but do you think stability is an issue?
 >

if you look at PHP for the long term there are no worries
about stability...and it's fairly easy to learn to use

you may also find pre-written PERL modules for anything
you need to do

but I would concentrate on keeping it simple and getting
it running before worrying too much about what comes
next...making frequent small changes with a global
find/replace isn't actually very onerous...you'd still
have to do most of the same stuff if you used a cgi
solution

--
eric
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.ericjarvis.co.uk" target="_blank">www.ericjarvis.co.uk</a>
"Hey Lord don't ask me questions
There ain't no answer in me"<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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Kkiely wrote:

 > Is there a way to make it so that everything above the navigation bar is
 > controlled by 1 set of code?

<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.allmyfaqs.com/faq.pl?Include_one_file_in_another" target="_blank">http://www.allmyfaqs.com/faq.pl?Include_one_file_in_another</a>

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Kkiely wrote:

 > My new site is <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.HomePokerGames.com" target="_blank">www.HomePokerGames.com</a> . The first screen shows all
 > games
 > for all states but i am going to get it up so you c an click on a state
 > and have the games for that state come up.
 > Assuming I dont use frames, I am going to have to create 50 different
 > HTML
 > files for wach state. I don't mind doing this because it is a quick cut
 > and
 > paste job. The problem is, if i want to change my logo of something or
 > make a
 > small change then i have to change all 51 files manually.

No, you don't. Just write a Perl script to edit all the files in a
consistent way. This allows you to host the pages on any site, even those
with limitations on PHP and other such features.

 > Is there a way
 > to make it so that everything above the navigation bar is controlled by 1
 > set of code?

That depends. You haven't said what level of service you have. If the logo
changes are infrequent, just automate the editing of your pages. If they
change minute-to-minute, change services if required to get support for
PHP, which allows you to assemble your "pages" (as seen by the visitor) out
of any elements you want.

--
Paul Lutus
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