Data base and CGI Quick

[PCRIDE]

I was just offered a webmaster job, The entire site has a huge backend system, where,

1.Customers and Retailers can log into and place orders, and have them shipped from a certain warehouse.

2. Admin login accounts for admin stuff

3. Retailers have a special log in that can :
-see previouse orders and order history
-name info and company address that can be edited
-and some other stuff

I have never used or made a data base

So my main questions are if I take this job how hard is it to spice up the interface, The guy wants Flash ad's in the retailer log in section, on the side (if all that pulls from a data base how hard is it).

What am I facing here, with dbase and all, I have never delt with a dbase.
Do I take the job and see what I can do in 30 days ( the trial period) And I would have to quit my main job.
But I will get paid more.



???????

PCRIDE

[webcorps]

do you know the language on the system?

try this link:

http://www.perl.com/pub/q/resources

[gerbick]

your flash will most likely be the static part of the page. I wouldn't endeavor - not at the moment - trying to update the parts returned back from the database as variables to be updated in your flash movie.

spice up, at the moment, means that you'll probably be redesigning the pages, adding a bit o' flash here and there, and then doing some updates later on.

database dev and usuage is not really that hard, but you have to learn so much of the query language. heck, I'm still dealing with T-SQL of MS SQL 2000 for triggers and what not being so weirdly different than any others out there.

[PCRIDE]

I think its CGI with perl, but not sure for the back end.
I am just wondering if a user on that site logs in and has there own personal order page, If I wanted to add a Flash banner (advertisment), would that flash have to be pulled from the data base, or do you just embed it like a simple HTML page.

Just a little worried that I will not perform as this guy thinks.

I know enough to debug , I guess just looking at the code and taking it from there.

Thanks
PCRIDE

[webcorps]

no, do not put flash or images in databases if you can help it. you place them in a folder and you place the link to them in the database. thats why they should all be the same size, etc. with an add banner rotation script, it randomly selects a link and replaces the src in the flash object tag through a variable(the link).

[PCRIDE]

but , like is the dbase just text files?? If i needed to add a link to a page lets say, is it just the standard HTML tag, or do I need to make like 4 lines of code for the Dbase so it would link up ,

for instance

look at the flash kit URL at the end
php?action=newreply&threadid=539384

where is that number generated, I see the page is 539384 but the encrypted URL I don't get that.

THanks

[webcorps]

you do that on the cgi page, it creates a number or as in flashkits case it assigns it one, a unique identifier or the primary key(mandatory in a database). A database is a container/app of sorts, like an excel spreadsheet, and that number references a column called threadid which is unique.

[edited: still coming down off of beer: bleh]

look at this script to see the variables you have to pull from the html to enter in to the db, all of the functionality is on the cgi page, the db is merely a repository...

http://www.apeiros.com/portfolio/samPerl.html