[ic] Beima's Response!

[Steve & Patti Getzinger]

  I remember a post by Mike some time back talking about perl. It was a
mess in his mind until one day it just all broke loose. After that day
it all seemed to make sense. Minivend / Interchange is about the same
way. I struggled and struggled until I got (or at least I think I got)
the concept. Once I got the concept of a database driven site and what
it takes to make one actually run well (my definition of well) the tags
seemed to make sense. I could not begin to tell you how much time I
spent on writing a coordinated search tag that actually worked. The UI
makes it all easy. Next came the template mentality and vars. Talk about
dynamic site content and layout all in one swipe. [include] is your
friend :) so are [rotate] and [random] (I think one of those two got
dropped with latest releases).

  My initial getting up and going took about a year. That was back at
version 2.08. This is a large toy with many buttons to push and try. The
only real limits I have seen with it is the person using it. No offense
intended but I have found that to be my greatest limitation. Start
simple just like the original thought of adding a shopping cart to your
site. You remember a .cgi script. Get the thing going in stock form with
your inventory. Now work on essentials like what states to tax in and
proper shipping files. Forget fancy shipping stick to UPS until you have
everything working properly for you.

  Doing something like Cybercash? Get it operational along with PGP
(concept). SSL working properly? GREAT! Now make it look like you want
to look. Now it is time to circle back and start fine tuning to your
specific wants. By now you have learned a great deal. I personally think
while the UI is a great enhancement through this process try learning it
without the UI. Oh yes do not forget DYNAMIC! Do not hard code your
menus unless you absolutely have to, let the server do it for you. This
will greatly reduce site maintenance in the future.

  Think pieces when you look at a page and build as you think. I like
the [if] tag family. Makes for great layout changes based on ...

  First step: Stop thinking HTML and start thinking database mining.

Steve

Jim Balcom wrote:
> 
> On Sun, 1 Apr 2001, Steve & Patti Getzinger wrote:
> 
> S&PG>>If you...Toyota.
> 
> Excellent...engine.
> 
> -= Jim =-
 
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