Improve Your Visitors Experience - Add Scripts to Your Website
By
Gavyn Stewart,
a
writer and programmer
notices[at]stewartconsultants.com
www.StewartConsultants.com
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Copyright © 2006,
Gavyn Stewart
For
new webmasters, adding third-party software and scripting
to a website can be a really scary proposition. I
remember when I put my first scripts on my own website.
Even with my basic dos programming experience in high
school, I was still intimidated by the whole process.
I was so sure that I was going to screw something
up.
The
very first script I ever installed on my website was
a Graphical Counter from BigNoseBird.com
(http://www.bignosebird.com/carchive/counter.shtml).
I ended up spending five days playing with the script
to get it to display just the way I wanted it displayed.
The
second script I ever installed was a Recommend This
Page To A Friend script, also from BigNoseBird.com
(http://www.bignosebird.com/carchive/birdcast.shtml).
How
Scripts Differ From Ordinary HTML
Basic
web building uses HTML. HTML is simply a markup language
that helps you display text and images within a web
page.
Most
of us know the basics of how to build a webpage in
HTML. Others use website design software that interprets
the requests of the user to build a webpage in HTML.
In
its most basic understanding, "scripting"
is the process of programming webpages to perform
certain calculations, which will affect how information
is displayed on the webpage.
If
you fill out a form on a website and hit send, chances
are that you are engaging a script of some sort to
interpret the information that you have sent to the
website. If you return to a website and it knows your
username and password, then a script has been involved
in the process to make your return visit much simpler.
If you see a list of the most recent posts on a website,
then a script was used to make that information appear
for your consumption.
Scripting
is most often handled in Javascript, VBscript (Microsoft's
answer to Javascript), PHP or Perl. Each one is different
in its structure and utilization.
Javascript
can be added within the actual HTML of a webpage,
and it will fire when the page is loaded or when a
request is made. One way that I have recently seen
Javascript used was for a page that was doing a countdown
of how much time remains until their scheduled event.
I have actually used Javascript to put news feeds
across the top of my webpages. Some Javascript is
usually placed in the page header, between the HEAD
tags within the HTML. Other Javascript is placed in
the HTML body where the Javascript activities are
intended to appear.
VBscript
works in the same manner as Javascript, but needs
to reside on a Microsoft Windows server.
PHP
and Perl are more appropriately designated as languages.
Both are file types, and both allow you to design
an entire website or parts of a website to perform
specific actions or functions.
A
function is defined as, "Functions (also known
as subroutines and procedures) are chunks of code
- parts of programs - which can be called from another
part of the program. Generally, functions greatly
enhance the space-efficiency and maintainability of
computer programs."
PHP
and Perl Usage
Most
servers have PHP and Perl functionality built into
the web hosting accounts. However, not all web hosting
companies are comfortable offering Perl (CGI-Bin)
access to their users.
The
reason why many web hosts shudder at the thought of
making the Perl libraries available to their users
is because Perl is a very powerful scripting language.
In the hands of the wrong person(s), Perl access in
a server can be used to bring great harm upon the
server.
In
order to operate Perl scripts, you must have the ability
to change and set file permissions on any file that
resides on your web hosting account. If you have just
a basic Yahoo hosting account, you will not be able
to use any Perl applications on your website. Some
web hosts prohibit Perl usage at any level.
PHP
is a new language that came about over the last few
years. It has been designed to allow people who do
not have Perl access to still have the ability to
do scripting on their domain.
PHP
generally does not require that you have access to
file permissions. In Perl, executable files must carry
permissions of 755. In PHP, most files will only be
required to carry permissions of 644, which are the
same permissions a standard webpage carries.
Fortunately
for Perl programmers like me, PHP operates in many
of the same manners that Perl programs operate. The
learning curve from Perl to PHP is not very big at
all.
Perl
and PHP Bring With Them Powerful Libraries of Functions
What
makes Perl and PHP as powerful as they are is the
fact that both utilize functions very well. Basically,
a function will carry out one specific task, and it
will be able to be called from anywhere in your software.
Generally,
one of the very first actions to be taken in a script
is to INCLUDE all other files that are needed to operate
the software. The additional files generally carry
many of the functions that will be used in the software.
Then
the software proceeds to carry out all of the necessary
functions in order to build a webpage in a specific,
pre-defined manner.
Programmers
decide that there is a task that they perform often,
and then they build it into a function. In time, the
programmer will usually make his function available
to the programming community. And eventually, if the
function is exceptionally useful, then the function
will be bundled in new releases of the basic Perl
or PHP build. All of these additional functions are
made available as the functions library.
How
To Find Perl and PHP Scripts to Use On Your Website
There
are actually many places you can go to find scripts
to use for your websites. Some websites offer directories
of free and paid scripts. Some websites will let you
have their scripts if they can have your email address.
Additionally,
there are literally thousands of websites and hundreds
of books that will teach you how to write your own
scripts in any of these languages.
When
I am in the mood to improve my coding abilities, I
like going to: http://www.planetsourcecode.com/
Planet Source Code offers full scripts and pieces
of scripts, with feedback, that will teach me to be
a better programmer.
My
favorite place for locating scripts to download for
free or to
buy is: http://www.resourceindex.com/
The
Resource Index has one part of their site dedicated
to Perl
scripts: http://cgi.resourceindex.com/
They
also have one part of their site dedicated to PHP
scripts:
http://php.resourceindex.com/
Another
decent site for locating scripts is at:
http://www.hotscripts.com/
Many
individual programmers also offer a lot of good software
for purchase or for free. A few of the good ones will
be:
http://www.scriptarchive.com/
http://www.bignosebird.com/
http://www.willmaster.com/
In
Conclusion...
If
you have ever told yourself, "it would be cool
(or useful) if I could do this for my website's visitors,"
then you are in the market to learn how to use scripts
on your website.
If
you have imagined it, chances are someone has programmed
it.
If they have programmed it, then you will either be
able to download it for free, or to buy it at a very
reasonable cost.
Before
you plunk down your money to buy a program or script,
be sure that the programmer is willing to show you
the script in action. If it doesn't do what you want
it to do, don't buy it. If it does do what you want
to do, then by all means, do consider purchasing the
software for use on your own site.
When
programmers offer their software for sale, their documentation
is usually pretty good. They will tell you what steps
you need to take to install it on your server, and
they will tell you how to operate the software.
It
is very realistic to believe that if you like what
the software does, you can have it live and operational
on your website in less than 30 minutes in most cases.
Good
luck. I will be around later to see what cool stuff
you have added to your website. ;-)
Gavyn
Stewart
is a writer and programmer. When we needed software
for our websites, we would always go on the hunt for
software to buy. At the end of the day when we could
not find pre-packaged software to do exactly what
we wanted it to do, we built our own. Since most programmers
are not business owners, how could they know what
we really needed? We have started making some of our
own software available for purchase at: http://www.StewartConsultants.com
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