Create website with user acounts for downloading songs?

[YEAH]

Hi!

I want to create a website from which people should be able to request a
piano accompaniment for Christian songs they want to use in their worship
services. The idea is that they say what song they want, I play and record
it, and make it available for them as an mp3-file to download it. And all
that for free!

Technically, it should work like the following:

- The user signs up for my service and creates a user account with password

- The user fills a form through his user acount to request a song they want
me to play

- I should see that form somewhere in an administrator account

- I record the song in mp3-format

- I upload it somewhere to the website

- I make that song available to the user by posting the link to that song
into the user's account

- The user logs in, sees the link and downloads the song


My question is: how can I do that I know, a very broad question... I have
basic html skills, I have created a website before, but only using html
files. For this project I would need much more than that, I just don't know
what I know how to program in C++ and Java, if that's an advantage...

I basically want to ask you guys to tell me roughly how I can approach such
a project. I am willing to learn new stuff (CGI, Perl, PHP, ...) if
necessary, but it would be easiest and fastest for me to just use some stuff
that is already available, if there is something for my needs.

Thanks for your help!

Cristian

 

[Neal]

Hi!

I want to create a website from which people should be able to request a
piano accompaniment for Christian songs they want to use in their worship
services. The idea is that they say what song they want, I play and
record
it, and make it available for them as an mp3-file to download it. And all
that for free!

Technically, it should work like the following:

- The user signs up for my service and creates a user account with
password

Can be done with a CGI or even PHP as I understand, though I'm not an
authority.

- The user fills a form through his user acount to request a song they
want
me to play

Simple with a Perl script (CGI) emailed to you.

- I should see that form somewhere in an administrator account

How about your email address?

- I record the song in mp3-format

No advice needed.

- I upload it somewhere to the website
Again...

- I make that song available to the user by posting the link to that song
into the user's account

Might want to post it to a random URL and email them the link.

- The user logs in, sees the link and downloads the song

Not even needed with my solution!

I know how to program in C++ and Java, if that's an advantage...

Advantage over me. I can't program a microwave.

I basically want to ask you guys to tell me roughly how I can approach
such
a project. I am willing to learn new stuff (CGI, Perl, PHP, ...) if
necessary, but it would be easiest and fastest for me to just use some
stuff
that is already available, if there is something for my needs.

Keep it simple. You're not going to get immense traffic, right? Seriously,
how many people need this? So you could get by with a simple email-sending
CGI for song requests.

If it's bound to be more complicated than that, then I'll shut up.

 

[Tina - AffordableHOST, Inc.]

Hi!

I want to create a website from which people should be able to request a
piano accompaniment for Christian songs they want to use in their worship
services. The idea is that they say what song they want, I play and record
it, and make it available for them as an mp3-file to download it. And all
that for free!

Since its all being done for free...why not take requests and then post them
on a public "download" page for everyone?

--Tina

 

[Sam Hughes]

Hi!

I want to create a website from which people should be able to request
a piano accompaniment for Christian songs they want to use in their
worship services. The idea is that they say what song they want, I
play and record it, and make it available for them as an mp3-file to
download it. And all that for free!

Technically, it should work like the following:

- The user signs up for my service and creates a user account with
password

- The user fills a form through his user acount to request a song they
want me to play

Instead, have no user accounts, just a form for requests, including a
field for the user's email address.

- I should see that form somewhere in an administrator account

Okay. Or an email box of yours (because that solution is easier to do,
since scripts already exist)

- I record the song in mp3-format
Okay.

- I upload it somewhere to the website
Okay.

- I make that song available to the user by posting the link to that
song into the user's account

Since there are no user accounts by my model, post them in an
alphabetized repository, and email the user the location of the file.
It's not enjoyable for people to have 20 zillion places that may have
messages they need to check; it's much simpler to have it sent to their
email address. And this way, with a publicly accessible repository
(possibly made with some PHP and a database), you won't get multiple
requests for the same song.

My question is: how can I do that I know, a very broad question...
I have basic html skills, I have created a website before, but only
using html files. For this project I would need much more than that, I
just don't know what I know how to program in C++ and Java, if
that's an advantage...

That's a great advantage, because now you have much less to learn. Other
languages just require a different syntax. PHP should be easy to pick
up... Just start at http://us2.php.net/tut.php for an introductory
tutorial.

 

[Cristian]

Thanks for all your responses! I think I'm going to use an email form for
the requests, as all of you suggested.

I have one more question though: I want the requester to be able to send me
the sheet music of the song as an image file, if available. How can this be
accomplished? The user should be able to send the file through the form. I
should receive then the file as an attachment in my email inbox. Is that
possible?

Thanks!

Cristian