interactive (blog type) software

[dorayme]

I have been asked if it is possible to have a facility on a website so that
interested parties can make suggestions and comment on each other's
contributions etc. I don't know all the issues involved. I can get by in
HTML and CSS but that is about it. Are there web blog type packets that can
be bought and inserted into the website by me without further skills and
easy for me to implement? I did see a question about this a while back and
there were replies about needing php... Is it possible to do without such?
Are there modules with relatively simple instructions for management that I
can purchase or obtain?

dorayme

 

[David Dorward]

I have been asked if it is possible to have a facility on a website so
that interested parties can make suggestions and comment

and there were replies about needing php... Is it possible to do without
such?

User submits data. Somehow that data has to get to other users. This is
impossible without some server side technology to accept the submitted data
and process it. My preference would be Perl (via mod_perl or (second
choice) CGI), other options include PHP, JSP, Python (mod_python or CGI),
ASP or pretty much any programming language (via CGI).

What you use is largely dependent on what the capabilities of your server
are (unless you are in a position to change your server).

 

[dorayme]

User submits data. Somehow that data has to get to other users. This is
impossible without some server side technology to accept the submitted data
and process it. My preference would be Perl (via mod_perl or...

David Dorward

Well, thank you, yes, I do see that there has to be processing... I have
made a site for an organisation and they like it but this new request may
mean I have to pass to others with more experience in these matters unless
there is a way I can incorporate something on the web site without the
skills you allude to. I guess what I was asking is whether there is any
known or common way for people to have blogs on web sites without writing or
dealing with the actual code or scripts for it. (Analogy, not in respect to
server activity: Many people use javascript code with being able to write or
understand it (for better or worse!), they put various blocks gotten from
elsewhere and it works - often anyway

Put it another way. Would it possible or likely that the server company
would have the needed software or I could get it from elsewhere to be loaded
by them and I could then link or do things on the site that engages with
this software to enable the whole process. Pardon my ignorance, (or maybe
don't

dorayme

 

[dorayme]

Many people use javascript code with being able to write or
understand

should have read "without being able to..."

dorayme

 

[mbstevens]

Put it another way. Would it possible or likely that the
server company would have the needed software or I could
get it from elsewhere to be loaded by them and I could
then link or do things on the site that engages with
this software to enable the whole process. Pardon my
ignorance, (or maybe
don't

Depending on the level of interaction required, you could
go with a blog or with a wiki. Free software for these
is all over the net. Besides Googling, you might search
here...
http://www.cgi-resources.com/
http://www.cpan.org/
Those are just Perl resources, but there is free software
available in several languages. Installing requires some
level of competence with the server's operating system
and with the language being used. You may have to have
it installed if you don't have a bit of time to get up to
speed. Some blogs are hosted on a different system than
yours, and you can just subscribe. This might be good
for a personal blog, but might not be flexible enough for
your needs. Google around and get a feel for it.