HTML forms --- Why so complicated?

On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 04:37:39 +0000 (UTC), "David_MB"
<webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote:

> Anyone know why Adobe has been so negligent on this matter?

Because Dreamweaver is designed to build web pages that do not depend on
proprietary Microsoft Front Page server extensions that do the heavy
lifting for Front Page.

It doesn't require a "hard core programmer" to implement a form, but it
does require a willingness to learn a little bit about the technology used
by the server where the site is hosted.

Gary

On Thu, 26 Feb 2009 09:01:22 +0000 (UTC), "David_MB"
<webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote:

>It does require what is obviously a lot of very unecessary complication. Over
>the top complications are never a good thing. Creating a form should be a very
>quick, simple, and intuitive function of Dreamweaver, not some all-day project.
>It's an obvious function of any good html design program.

There is nothing in HTML that will process a form submission. Processing a
form submission is done with server scripting. FrontPage saved its users
by requiring proprietary Microsoft Front Page server extensions in order
to accomplish that. Once those training wheels are gone, you need to deal
with the technologies available on the server. That may mean using ASP,
PHP, CF, JSP, or Perl. Once you understand the technology being used, it's
normally a 10 minute job to set up a form. There are tons of free,
pre-written scripts available to do that.

Gary

A couple scripting links to check out...

http://www.hotscripts.com/

http://www.scriptarchive.com/

Also... As well as the links below - another way to learn (including anyone else's bad habits) is to find a page you like, and then tell your web browser to show you the code view for the page and/or do a "Save As" and save the page to your computer to then copy & paste code segments into your file (in IE click View at the top, select Source from the options)

HTML and/or DW Tutorials, and other information links that I have saved

http://validator.w3.org/
http://www.visibone.com/
http://www.w3schools.com/
http://www.hotscripts.com/
http://www.projectseven.com/
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/
http://www.scriptarchive.com/
http://www.htmldog.com/guides/
http://www.htmlcodetutorial.com/
http://alistapart.com/topics/code
http://www.how-to-build-websites.com/
http://css.maxdesign.com.au/floatutorial/
Download User Guide as PDF for easy search
http://www.adobe.com/support/documentation
http://www.ianr.unl.edu/internet/mailto.html
http://lynda.com/ Hours of videos. (must pay)
http://apptools.com/examples/pagelayout101.php
http://www.thesitewizard.com/archive/css.shtml
http://www.projectseven.com/tutorials/index.htm
If not PDF (link above) an online guide to read
http://livedocs.adobe.com/en_US/Dreamweaver/9.0/
Customizing the layouts that come with CS3 (VIDEO)
http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/video_workshop/?id=vid0155
FormMail http://www.bebosoft.com/products/formstogo/index.php
For those using MySQL - Installing PHP and MySQL on Windows XP
http://www.webassist.com/professional/products/solutionrecipes.asp
Community MX lessons http://www.communitymx.com/abstract.cfm?cid=3D074
http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/designcenter/search.cfm?product=Dreamweaver&go=Go
The Contact Form Solution Pack is only $29.99. To learn more, visit
http://www.webassist.com/go/cfsp

> disgusting things like mysql and PHP

You're likely to find yourself a stranger in a strange land here.
--

Walt


"David_MB" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:go7le5$505$1@forums.macromedia.com...
> Hmm..... Those script library sites will come in handy. I'll probably
> never be
> sold on the manual server-side scripting thing. But then again I'm a Flash
> person. I'm very comfortable building applications with Flash using AS2
> and
> AS3. I don't like stuff like PHP or Java. I see stuff I recognize but it's
> still not Actionscript. Working in Actionscript is like working at home,
> working in something else is like being in some strange place where I
> don't
> know where anything is.
>
> When I build sites I normally build navigation elements, video/audio
> elements,
> photo galleries, and some types of data and file management with Flash.
> I've
> built some fairly sophisticated data handling components with Flash,
> avoiding
> disgusting things like mysql and PHP. I just use Dreamweaver to assemble
> them
> into an HTML layout. I don't like sites that are completely Flash because
> I
> loose the advantage of HTML text.
>
>
>

.oO(David_MB)

> When I build sites I normally build navigation elements, video/audio elements,
>photo galleries, and some types of data and file management with Flash. I've
>built some fairly sophisticated data handling components with Flash, avoiding
>disgusting things like mysql and PHP.

Just curious: What kind of data? Where did it come from, where was it
supposed to go? Data handling without a server component seems pretty
useless to me. For simple sites this might work, but for more advanced
stuff you always need "disgusting" server-side stuff, which usually
involves a scripting language like PHP.

Micha

On Fri, 27 Feb 2009 03:07:49 +0000 (UTC), "David_MB"
<webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote:

>I'm very comfortable building applications with Flash using AS2 and
>AS3. I don't like stuff like PHP or Java.

David, you have the skills necessary. If you can program AS, you can
program other languages. Honestly, I get the feeling this is just a mental
thing, where you've decided you don't want to learn another language. You
have the skillset. It's just a matter of learning syntax. If you'll just
get over that mental block, I think learning a server scripting language
would be very beneficial to you.

Gary