Computing (MySQL, etc.)

[2005-06-12]
Reminder: Dynamic Drive site has script for opening links in new window.

Categories: New_Horizons, PHP, MySQL, PERL, Databases

bin.yale.edu
"provides users with access to a variety of scripting and programming tools [e.g., MySQL]. The goal is to allow users to experiment with development tools that are not available on other institutional servers." But there's a caveat: "can be overkill for small data sets that do not change frequently. If you are unfamilair with SQL, but are comfortable with a scripting language such as PERL, it may be easier to store your data in a tab-delimited file" (from http://bin.yale.edu/mysqlover.html).

Categories: MySQL


There's a list of PERL Modules installed on bin.yale.edu (with several broken links). There's a PERL FAQ page, and a URL for downloading latest release. How to access MySQLthrough BIN account. Note MySQL Reference Manual for version 3.23.41 available on Yale site.

Server specifications
bin.yale.edu is a SPARCstation 20, running SunOS 5.8, with Apache 1.3.14
httpd server installed. Documentation on the Apache server is at
http://httpd.apache.org/

How to access bin.yale.edu:
Connect to the server bin.yale.edu using your NetID and password. You can
use any of a number of methods to log in and to transfer files. All of
these methods protect your password.

Logging In
You can log in to bin.yale.edu using either Kerberized telnet or Secure
Shell (SSH). Clients for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux are available at
http://www.yale.edu/software/network/secure/

Transferring files:
You can transfer files either using SAMBA or Secure Shell File Transfer
(SFTP) under Windows, and Secure Copy (scp) or Secure Shell File Transfer
(SFTP) under Unix, and Kerberized FTP (KFTP) for the Macintosh. More
information on secure file transfer can be found at
http://www.yale.edu/webmaster/secure-ftp.html

Once you have connected:
Upon connecting you'll find yourself in your home directory:/export/home/NetID

Within this home directory is a subdirectory,
public_html, which is the directory from which web pages, including web
pages generated by scripts, will be served. Within the public_html
subdirectory is in turn a directory called cgi-bin, into which scripts
should be placed.

The corresponding URLs:
/export/home/NetID/public_html = http://bin.yale.edu/~NetID/
/export/home/NetID/public_html/cgi-bin = http://bin.yale.edu/~NetID/cgi-bin/

Because we've configured the Apache server to run with suEXEC enabled,
you can protect your cgi-bin directory so that only you can read and
write to it.

Also, there are no shared group affiliations. Your NetID is also your
group ID. Your scripts belong to you individually, not your www.yale.edu
group. If you stop having access to bin.yale.edu, be sure to hand over
your files to someone else who can maintain them.

Note: Change of server software from Netscape to Apache:

Any Netscape-server specific behavior in scripts or pages you have ported
from www.yale.edu must be modified to work under the Apache server.
The most obvious change is in the syntax for .htaccess files.
If you currently have .htaccess files on elsinore, which uses a
Netscape server, you'll need to modify the syntax of those files.

http://apache-server.com/tutorials/ATusing-htaccess.html contains a tutorial on using .htaccess files under Apache.

http://httpd.apache.org/docs/mod/directives.html contains a list of directives that can go into .htaccess files.

Perl has moved: Perl on elsinore was in a non-standard location. On bin.yale.edu it's been installed in

/usr/local/bin/perl

which is a more normal place for it to be. If you're porting scripts from www.yale.edu, you'll need to change the header in your scripts to reflect this change.

MySQL
To access MySQL, type the following at the command line:

/usr/local/mysql/bin/mysql -p

You will then be prompted for your MySQL password. When you have entered your MySQL password, a prompt will appear:

mysql>

At the prompt, type use netid (substitute your netid) to access your database.

PHP
According to BIN Tools: "You will have to put #!/usr/local/bin/php at the top of your php pages contrary to the 'common' way of doing php where it is parsed directly by the server."

suEXEC environment:
All your scripts will execute as you, not the web server. You no longer
need to have your files world-readable to have the web server look at
them, nor will you need to have them world-writable to have the web
server edit them. However, you do need to be sure that you (the owner)
have execute permission for the script, or it will not run.

If you have any questions about the new server, please reply to us at
webmast@pantheon.yale.edu, or call us at (203)-432-6598.


[2004-11-25]
Start with DreamWeaver Exchange tutorials.Webmonkey also has tutorial on PHP with MySQL. Another is available at freewebmasterhelp.com, where one is encouraged first to read specific tutorial on PHP. But dev.mysql.com might be the best.

[2004-11-21]

Blogger article "How to create expandable post summaries" including critical piece:

[span class="fullpost"] [/span]

where the expanded post text is insterted inside the span tags.


[2004-11-24]

Set up mailing list for SAC-FAST, but still waiting for confirmation from fellow subcommittee members that the invitations were distributed. The Administrative page allows modification of settings for members or list. Users are directed to the information page. These Web pages are customizable using HTML.


[2004 10 16]
HTML Cheat Sheet

Julie Linden, discussing good web design, recommends two web sites: Electronic Library Initiatives and Web, Workstation and Digital Consulting Services

For blog technical assistance, htmldog.com might be worth a look. Includes handy tags reference sheet.

July 8, 2004
The website SiteExperts.com seems like it might be useful. Also take a look at dive-into-xml.html and CSS Online which is actually a part of SiteExperts.com, I believe. Also check out SourceForge.net: Software Map for additional java script snippets. Here's a bit of java script that forces selected link to open in new window, which I've used on both Blogger and my static html homepage.
[2005-03-09]
Yale-hosted Tiki Wiki , a PHP/MySQL -backed opensource Wiki solution used by Yale ITS Technology & Planning to drive departmental webpage, superceded by uPortal, based at Princeton.

Consider Dream Weaver 2 for Learning Plan.

[2005-04-14]
MediaTech Solutions on Whalley Avenue offer classes in XML, DreamWeaver, ColdFusion, MySQL, and other web and database tools of interest to the Library. Less convenient, but better known, is New Horizons in Trumbull, which has lots of stuff on database-driven website development, but almost all of it presupposes a Windows OS environment. Here's their Course Catalog. It does have a DreamWeaver level 2 class, which might be worth taking. Would need to read course outline and make sure it's new territory. Also consider taking Programming with XML in the Microsoft .NET Framework, though it appears I don't have proper prerequisites. HOTT offers specific class on php programming, but rather expensive ($1895), and takes 4 days.