Help processing a form & web hosting

[CyrixInstead]

I am soon going to be making a small website for my mum's workplace: A doctor's surgery.

There will be a service that allows people to order repeat prescriptions via the site. The user will fill out the form with details & drugs to be ordered, and will submit the form. I presume that the details submitted will then be forwarded somehow (an email) to the surgery for the doctor to make the prescription.

I've never had to make a page with a form on before, and although I know how to make a form, it's the processing of the data when it's submitted I'm new to. What language to process the form in? php asp??

So, should I do the site in php or asp or what??

Also, depending on that answer, I also need a host and domain name setting up. It's the first site I've done where it's not using some crappy free webspace, and I haven't a clue how to get it sorted.

Could the S-M writers & hosts help me here (you use sarcnet right)??

Of course the surgery is willing to pay money for hosting etc, so that's not a problem.

I know it's a lot to ask but can anyone help me please??

~Cyrix

[primesuspect]

Cyrix:

:D you've got a PM

[hooj]

Go the PHP root, for what you need to do it will be the easiest and quickest solution for you. All you will need to do is grab the data from the fields and format it into a email, which in PHP couldn't be any easier.

For hosting I use a company called www.34sp.com. It cost me £15 a year for hosting which includes php support and a MySql database.

If you need any help just give us a shout.

[kanezfan]

if it helps at all, addaboy.com is hosted by sarcnet, and I've got forums and stuff running there. I'd also recommend you check out hotscripts.com for a lot of (over 10,000 i believe) of scripts which you can just use, awesome site.

[Keebler]

To learn PHP in a hurry, pick up the Visual Quickstart Guide for PHP. It's a fairly large series, and I swear by them to learn new stuff. Another great PHP resource once you have all the basics down is to visit www.php.net

If you've coded in other languages like c++, java, or pretty much any other non-HTML language, you will find PHP to be much easier. All variables start with $ and they can be set to any value at any time. Most other languages have stricter rules about variables.

A healthy knowledge of HTML will also be important, because you will probably end up printing out HTML code with the PHP at some point.

Anyway, long story short: Visual Quickstart Guides. :thumbsup:

[Kwitko]

There's a PHP port of the popular Perl formmail script. It requires little or no knowledge of PHP to get up and running. The documentation is very good and will walk you through every variable.

http://www.boaddrink.com/projects/phpformmail/

[CyrixInstead]

Cheers everyone. I'm looking into all the details you've given me.

~Cyrix

[CyrixInstead]

Woot!!

Well, I got my web hosting sorted (thanks hooj) and I'm so over the moon to have written my first ever php page.

I'll keep you up to date on the sites development, well I'll let you guys take a look when it's done :)

~Cyrix