Tech Guides :: Web Publishing :: Advanced Topics
MySQL
MySQL is a commonly used database system. Its popularity for use with web applications is closely tied to the popularity of PHP, which is often combined with MySQL. You can request a MySQL account on both the HSU Central and Users Web Servers.
users.humboldt.edu - Instructions for requesting a MySQL account.
www.humboldt.edu - Instructions for requesting a MySQL account.
****It is especially important that you do not make any file that contains a password (such as a config file) to a database "world readable".****
Drupal (www.humboldt.edu only) - Available 12/1/09
Drupal, which will be avaialble 12/1/09, is a dynamic web site platform which allows an individual or community of users to publish, manage and organize a variety of content, Drupal integrates many popular features of content management systems, weblogs, collaborative tools and discussion-based community software into one easy-to-use package. In addition, an HSU "theme" is available so you can have an HSU branded template installed in seconds.
Google Analytics
To monitor and get to know your audience on the web, the University recommends using Google Analytics on your web site. This is a great alternative to a page counter. Implementation is as easy as signing up for a free account, and pasting a bit of code at the bottom of your web pages. Google Analytics gives you rich insights into your website traffic and marketing effectiveness. Powerful, flexible and easy-to-use features now let you see and analyze your traffic data in an entirely new way. You can see which of your pages are viewed the most; how visitors find your site; check for things like what browser your visitors are using; and detailed information about Flash capabilities and screen resolution that can help you design the best user-experience possible. To signup simply visit http://www.google.com/analytics/
Forms Processing
If you have a form on your website, we recommend that you use FormMail to process that information rather than writing your own script. FormMail provides the logic required to accept form submissions on your website and email the results to you (and do other things too!).FormMail is free, has a long history with no serious security vulnerabilities, comes with built-in anti-spam features, has a bug-free policy, comes with complete and guaranteed support, and is actively being improved.
http://www.tectite.com/formmailpage.php
PHP
PHP is a widely-used general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for web development and can be embedded into HTML to produce dynamic web pages. Both the HSU Central and Users Web Servers support PHP.
JavaScript
Javascript is used in web site development to do such things as change a formatted date on a web page, cause a linked-to page to appear in a popup window, or cause text or a graphic image to change during a mouse rollover. Small Java applications are called Java applets and can be downloaded from a web server and run on your computer by a Java-compatible web browser.
The JavaScript Source
WebCoder.com
Beginners Guide to JavaScript
Animation and Video
Advanced multimedia presentations may include animation and video elements. There are many software applications that can assist you in creating and editing animation and video files.
Adobe Flash - Web standard for vector graphics and animation.
Adobe Director - Director combines graphics, sound, animation, text, and video to create streaming, multi-user, interactive Web content that is easy to deploy for CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, and the Web.
Custom user CGI scripts & Perl - Not available
CGI (Common Gateway Interface) is a common scripting method used on Web servers. HSU does not support CGI scripts, including perl, on Web servers due to the relatively open nature of CGI scripts and the potential to compromise the overall security of the Web server. CGI scripts are vulnerable to a large number of exploits that may be used to compromise the overall security of the Web server. They are often vulnerable to remote execution exploits, primarily due to inconsistency of coding practices. Also, CGI can impair server performance, as an additional process is started every time the CGI routine is called. This uses memory and other resources on the Web server, which can cause slow response time.
