Saveware WorkSpace

Member System Advanced Website PHP MySQL

This is an extensive video and source file based tutorial series on how to build or create an automated dynamic member based community web site system from scratch using PHP, MySQL, and Flash ActionScript 3.0. The following series is filled with insight and code practices rarely shared for free, and unique original technology integration methods that have been created by Adam Khoury. Being in full control over your custom programmed systems will greatly raise the chances of you creating a unique and useful system for your members.

Whatever your goals might be, we give you the insight that will help you build your dream site. Starting a custom social or business network website is not difficult... nurturing it, and always upgrading it is the key to longevity and member satisfaction.

CONSIDERATIONS:
• You should have basic HTML, CSS, PHP, and Flash ActionScript knowledge to move more quickly
• You will need a good HTML editor(Dreamweaver), and Flash CS3 or higher (using ActionScript 3.0) (not free)
• You will need a web server with PHP enabled, and one MySQL Database will be needed (MySQL DBs are free)
• Security will be covered to a certain level, but do your own research on this subject to be smart
• Adam is building the system live... for others to test it from, and for proving his tutorial functionality live
• This means you can follow along as he releases series videos and source code... or wait until he finishes...
• Source code may get revisions as needed, any revisions will be discussed in the intro video made at the end

PART 1
In this first part of the tutorial series we set up shop by buying our domain and hosting accounts for the web site... talk about server and technology specifics needed to run the PHP and MySQL system, and then we get started.

*** Important: *** Please view this lesson to make sure that all of your dynamic scripts get connected to.


How to Build a Community Website - Social Network Production Tutorials
Part 1 - Building a Social Network Website Tutorial

In this part of the tutorial series we create the flash header as placeholder, but yours can be an html based header. In the next lesson we show you how to set up your layout smart.

Part 2 - Create the universal Flash header and test in browsers

In this part of the tutorial series we show how to set up your CSS layout smart, and introduce you to using php include files as templates. Then we create multiple site pages to show the basics of how the include files work for a dynamic php website to save work and streamline the site design... over thousands of pages if we wish.

Part 3 - CSS Layout and php include files Dreamweaver Tutorial

In this part of the tutorial series we create the registration form using HTML form components. This is an all in one file that has parsing section in the top section of the file. Many important things occur in this part of the series. Watching the video will be necessary for beginners to get complete understanding, but intermediate users can just snatch up the script and move along.

Tutor at Develop PHP
Part 4 - PHP Join Form Creation and Parsing Script

In the previous part of the tutorial series we created and tested our join form and parse script. Here we create the activation script that will enable site login activation. This is a handy mechanism to assure that your users are who they say they are, and cut down on bots joining your system. This is not a necessary mechanism for the system, but it is your choice to use this security measure.

Part 5 - Activation Script creation and discussion

In this part of the tutorial series we create the main functionality behind our magic flash header file that senses whether a user is logged in or not. We use smart keyframing and layering in the flash file to pull it off easily. The ActionScript in the flash fla file(2 main AS 3.0 sections) call out to our 2 PHP scripts when they need to. That split second 2 way communication makes for a nice fluid system that breaks the molds and works in all major browsers tested so far... your only limitation is your imagination. This section mostly deals with checking to see if a user is logged in, and the login script itself if they are not. Flash calls out to PHP, PHP checks for session variables, and if they are set we show logged in stuff... if not we show the login form so that user can easily sign in to the web site.

Part 6 - Header Login check, Login Script, and Session Variables

In this 7th part of the tutorial series we continue creating button functionality in our universal flash header file. Here we focus on the log out button function. We create the simple PHP logout script, and run page refresh again. The session_destroy session function in PHP seems to handle what we need in this situation nicely.

Part 7 - Create Log Out in Flash AS 3.0 and PHP

In this 8th part of the tutorial series we start our php universal member profile page. This is one file on your server that renders every member according to which member is being requested to display on the page. It uses PHP to call on the MySQL database to get the appropriate data. When you hear everybody talking about a dynamic website, this is exactly what they mean. This page dynamically renders data at runtime according to variables. You can give session users separate content, that non-profile owners that are viewing the profile would never see.

Part 8 - Create the Universal Member Profile Page

In this 9th part of the tutorial series we start our php universal member profile edit page. This is one file on your server that all members use to make adjustments and additions to their profile data. Code the flash as3 header to navigate, and the php page to render variables... more on this in part 10... continued.

Part 9 - Create the Profile Edit Page

In this 10th part of the tutorial series we continue our member profile edit page. We query the member data, we add forms to the page for the members to use to update their information, then add the queried member data to the form fields to make code light yet very functional. Doing it this way you can avoid creating complex scripts due to the data displaying and updating using the same exact section, all on the same page.

Part 10 - Continue production of the profile edit page

In this 11th part of the tutorial series we complete our member profile edit page. This section deals mostly with the parsing mechanisms in the upper portion of the script. Each parsing section runs only if that section is chosen to de updated. Everything updates and refreshes in real time. We also test and prove functionality on video. We added some CSS for our form fields, and made revisions to the database and register form... so be sure to get the new zip download package.

Part 11 - Continue production of the profile edit page

In this 12th part of the tutorial series we show you how to run a simple query on your database that will render a list of all items inside that table. Then we run a while loop on the queried data to render all out easily using HTML code within our PHP scripting. You can query your MySQL database in many different ways to get just the right PHP printed lists to render in the html section of the files. This is just temporary so you see a list of all members while you build, and demonstrates simple querying to beginner PHP + MySQL programmers.

Part 12 - Display member list temporarily for Viewing

In this 13th part of the tutorial series we show you how to add simple embedding and api interfaces form other popular websites, to connect entities that people enjoying showing to others on the web. This may also help your members index their web entities better, and also an easy way to add cool stuff to their profiles.

Part 13 - Embedding API Interfacing from other websites

In this 14th part of the tutorial series we show you how to display the newest members to join and activate at your site. You can run many different queries to output different ordering or different member type display. It is 100% php and mysql dynamic... so you can set it and forget it. This php script and html display will always be up to date and show the newest members as the site gains members.

Part 14 - Display newest members on homepage

In this 15th part of the tutorial series we show you how to use php and dynamic mysql queries to extract the exact information we would like to list according to what the user chooses to search for. It can show a default list as the user enters the page, then we supply them with html forms to target the content they would like to see on our website. The dynamic php mysql created queries feed the main query string that requests the database data, so we can more easliy code out our applications.

Part 15 - Create Browse Members Page

In this 16th part of the webintersect.com tutorial series we show you how to trim, cut, or shorten the display lengths of dynamic string data coming out of your mysql database. Use PHP to do kung fooey on it, and chop it up, or just use a DIV overflow:hidden to cut it off at a pixel width.

Part 16 - Trim and Format Dynamic String Data using PHP and CSS on MySQL Rendered Results

In this 17th part of the webintersect.com tutorial series we show you how to get the rest of the profile data laid into the member profile page correctly. We show an easy method of displaying alternate content in case that particular member has no content filled out for the section that requests to display it in our PHP script that interacts with our MySQL database. Learning how to display alternate content is essential for making a smooth system that caters to all of the variations you want profiles to have according to member type, or the data that members may have that other members do not have to show.

Part 17 - Finish profile page and learn to diplay alternate content

In this 18th part of the tutorial series we show you how to begin programming twitter tweeting type functionality. First we create the PHP script that will create the table needed for holding all of the blabs, and run it from the server to create the table. Then we set up the html form for easily gathering all of the member blabs from within the member profiles in the next lesson, part 19.

Part 18 - Begin creating twitter or facebook like status functionality for live feeds of the data on site

In this 19th part of the tutorial series we continue creation of a member status input field. Or blabbing as I call it. Available to members who are logged in, giving them the ability to shout out whatever they feel like shouting out. This is a great way to make your site feel really alive and dynamic... and it helps if you have a lot of active members.

Part 19 - Allow members to blab and run live feeds on site

In this 20th part of the tutorial series we complete the base programming in our application for twitter or facebook like status functionality. Or blabbing as I call it. In the next lesson we will wrap it up by allowing the logged in member to delete any blabs they have created by giving them a little delete feature if they are logged in and viewing their blab or status list.

Part 20 - Completing the base functionality of the status application

In this 21st part of the tutorial series we learn how to put dynamically displayed PHP and MySQL content into DIV scrollers for maximizing real estate in our page payouts. Many times the data results or text fields coming out of your database are lengthy and you would like to set a maximum height regardless of the different amounts of data that your members might have written in. This is a very simple method using HTML and CSS to achieve auto content scrollers without much effort.

Part 21 - Learning how to put dynamically displayed PHP and MySQL content into DIV scrollers.

In this 22nd part of the tutorial series we learn how to create and assemble interfacing that will allow our lovely member to edit the main account settings. These settings are somewhat in a different category than the edit profile settings so we can separate it easily enough and make a separate page and parser for it. We show you how and scripts to allow your members to change their password, and also allow them to completely delete their account and be removed from the system in all directories and MySQL database tables.

Part 22 - Creating the edit_settings.php script to allow editing of main account options

In this 23rd part of the tutorial series we learn how to use php to parse the member main account seetings. The edit_settings.php page has the forms that gather the data, and this new page we create here parses the data in whatever way we need it to.

Part 23 - Learn how to parse the edit_settings.php script to update the member settings

In this 24th part of the webintersect.com tutorial series we learn how to allow our members to completely remove their account from our system if they would like to do that. Offering this option is a handy tool for your site. Non-active or non-interested members can simply delete their account and leave the site interactions.

Part 24 - Allow members to delete their account and remove them from the directories and database.

In this 25th part of the webintersect.com tutorial series we learn how to Capping the maximum post amount to 20 in the database to keep things neat. I set mine to 20, but you can designate any number you like for setting the maximum post amount each user can have in the database at any given time.

Part 25 - Capping the maximum post amount to 20 in the database to keep things neat

In this 26th part of the webintersect.com tutorial series we learn how to write a script that will serve as a PHP and MySQL Forgot Password mechanism. Some of your members may forget their passwords, especially if you use a Remember Me mechanism for your login form.

Part 26 - Programming the Forgot or Lost Password script to generate temporary login passwords for site members

In this 27th part of the webintersect.com tutorial series we learn how to write the few pieces of code needed to have Remember Me functionality for our awesome website. There are just a few existing files we need to edit. Nothing about working with cookies in PHP is complicated. It is what it is and if you make it something more that is your fault, it is one of the most simple things to do in PHP... just like programming sessions.

Part 27 - Programming the Remember Me feature so users do not have to keep logging in

If you have a script coded in PHP 5+ that is attempting to create cookies for something like a website remember me feature using setcookie, no output can occur before the setcookie function is called to run. Just try to get all of your page output to occur below or after you run the setcookie() function in PHP version 5..

Part 28 - Fixing the setcookie bug when using PHP version 5 for Remember Me cookies

In this part of the series on building a community website we focus on randomizing and targeting display from our MySQL queries to have our sites look more professional, more used, and more colorful. We also show a method of separating your script logic into templates.This is part 29 of the cloning system and tutorial set.

Part 29 - Make the site PHP 5.0 but still PHP 4 workable, and add randomized member displays