Mar 26
So I've decided that we should look at one
more web technology that encompasses our
html5 + css on marlbororocks.org web development stuff.
I'd like to spend a week or two having you all install
and customize WordPress (a full fledged blog/website
environment) within the nearlyfreespeech.org
web hosting site that we've been working in.
I've set up some of the infrastructure you'll need,
and will start today to discuss the various technologies
that go into all this. Many of these you can use without
trying to master them completely, but I would like you to
at least understand the idea of how all the pieces fit together.
1. First let's remember how the "putting web pages on a web host" game works.
- Create files & folders on your local computer: file1.html, file2.css, file3.jpeg, ...
- with editors, image manipulation, ...
- Move them to marlbororocks.org using command line (e.g. scp) or graphical SFTP tool (e.g. Cyberduck).
- OR edit the files remotely from an SSH command line session.
- They need to have the right formats, and point to each other in the right way.
- Visit the corresponding URL with a browser, and there you are.
2. What is going on behind the scenes?
3. Now, the next two pieces to this game:
- PHP (a programming language running on the remote server)
- MySQL (a database on the remote server, in addition to the files themselves)
I'll show some simple examples of the PHP stuff on nearlyfreespeech.
With this infrastructure, we can install the whole WordPress kit and kaboodle
into a folder, customize it (either by editing the files directly
or by using the installed administrator web applications) and have
a full fledged interactive web presence.
Sam A has spent a lot of time with this technology and
can help you set all this up.
class wordpress blog : http://MarlboroRocks.org/your/wp
I will create more notes and show how it all works over the next few classes. For now, start poking around through the readings below, and muck about with the class blog.
access
All account specific details are on this page (only visible to our class) :
for the MySQL details, sftp user and host, and our class blog access stuff.
Specifics for our marlbororocks.org site :
- keep your files in your folder
- You will need to configure the WordPress database to use a prefix, to keep your data distinct from the other student's data. (We're all going to use the same database.)
readings
Concepts
- pages - fairly "permanent" pages, like what we did before ... BUT now content in database
- blog posts - updated regularly articles, e.g. one per week
- comments - other users remarks, typically after blog posts
- users - register people who can use your site
- themes - "look and feel" of the website, the html5 + css that lays out what is where
- URLS and paths - addresses of site
- customization - your modifications to existing themes
