June 12, 2004 PACS Database SIG Meeting Notes

We had an excellent turnout and enthusiastic participation from the members! More members have installed PHP and MySQL already and more progress has been made on the websites.

Meeting Recap

We discussed PHP and MySQL installation issues for newer members, and then moved on to database installation, focusing on the "playpen" databases and the joke database in Yank's book. Both sites had added a lot of content. Rich Sias was successful in installing a database onto the databasedrivenwebsite.net site and Ouida and Mark were successful in installing a database on the databasedrivenwebsite.com site. Ouida and Mark replicated Yank's joke database exactly, left it up for other members to see it in action, and encourage other members to undertake the same project. They also shared details of their own database projects (library/database of technical books, genealogy database) Rich did something different ("Sanity Savers") and also encourages members to contribute. Both teams shared URLs and admin-level access details with the group.

The members decided to meet in July and August and first choice location is the Community Room at Upper Moreland Library at 2pm on the third Saturday following the other Summer SIGs. (Photoshop is going to meet there on 12-2pm on July 17, and Web Design is going to meet from 12-2pm on August 21, 2004).

I am happy to report that we did indeed get our preferred dates and location: I have reserved the Community Room at Upper Moreland Library from 2:00-3:45 PM on Saturday, July 17, which is immediately following Photoshop SIG, and from 2:00-3:45 PM on Saturday, August 21, which is immediately following Web Design SIG.

Check out databasedrivenwebsite.net and databasedrivenwebsite.com! Both have new content that has been added since the June meeting!

Sanity Savers: http://www.databasedrivenwebsite.net/SS/pacs.htm
Jokes OnTheWeb: http://www.databasedrivenwebsite.com/admin.html

For the July 17, 2004 Meeting:

Database SIG members who have not yet done so will write installation notes on their successful and unsuccessful attempts to install PHP and MySQL on their own computers, following Yank's instructions (See more links below), or whatever worked.
New members who have not yet installed PHP and MySQL will do so.
Members who have successfully installed will go on to the database installation portion of the book, using either databasedrivenwebsite.net (Windows users) or databasedrivenwebsite.com (Mac and other Unix/Linux, etc. users).

Joining the Database SIG Listsev

The Database Special Interest Group of the Philadelphia Area Computer Society has formed a listserv in order to facilitate questions and discussion related to databases, especially relational databases, outside of monthly S.I.G. meetings. Design, implementation, troubleshooting, etc. in any relational database software management system may be discussed. Currently, building database-driven websites using PHP and MySQL, and related issues, are the main topics of discussion.

If you are interested in joining the group, follow this link

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pacs-db-sig

or email me directly at my email link.

PACS Main Page . . . Database SIG Main Page . . . Curriculum 2004