Improve Your Visitors Experience - Add Scripts to Your
Website
by Gavyn Stewart
Published on this site: February 1st, 2006 - See
more articles from this month
For new webmasters, adding third-party software and scripting
to a website can be a really scary proposition. I remember
when I put my first scripts on my own website. Even with my
basic dos programming experience in high school, I was still
intimidated by the whole process. I was so sure that I was
going to screw something up.
The very first script I ever installed on my website was
a Graphical Counter from BigNoseBird.com (http://www.bignosebird.com/carchive/counter.shtml).
I ended up spending five days playing with the script to get
it to display just the way I wanted it displayed.
The second script I ever installed was a Recommend This Page
To A Friend script, also from BigNoseBird.com
(http://www.bignosebird.com/carchive/birdcast.shtml).
How Scripts Differ From Ordinary HTML
Basic web building uses HTML. HTML is simply a markup language
that helps you display text and images within a web page.
Most of us know the basics of how to build a webpage in HTML.
Others use website design software that interprets the requests
of the user to build a webpage in HTML.
In its most basic understanding, "scripting" is
the process of programming webpages to perform certain calculations,
which will affect how information is displayed on the webpage.
If you fill out a form on a website and hit send, chances
are that you are engaging a script of some sort to interpret
the information that you have sent to the website. If you
return to a website and it knows your username and password,
then a script has been involved in the process to make your
return visit much simpler. If you see a list of the most recent posts on a website,
then a script was used to make that information appear for
your consumption.
Scripting is most often handled in Javascript, VBscript (Microsoft's
answer to Javascript), PHP or Perl. Each one is different
in its structure and utilization.
Javascript can be added within the actual HTML of a webpage,
and it will fire when the page is loaded or when a request
is made. One way that I have recently seen Javascript used
was for a page that was doing a countdown of how much time
remains until their scheduled event. I have actually used
Javascript to put news feeds across the top of my webpages.
Some Javascript is usually placed in the page header, between
the HEAD tags within the HTML. Other Javascript is placed
in the HTML body where the Javascript activities are intended
to appear.
VBscript works in the same manner as Javascript, but needs
to reside on a Microsoft Windows server.
PHP and Perl are more appropriately designated as languages.
Both are file types, and both allow you to design an entire
website or parts of a website to perform specific actions
or functions.
A function is defined as, "Functions (also known as
subroutines and procedures) are chunks of code - parts of
programs - which can be called from another part of the program.
Generally, functions greatly enhance the space-efficiency
and maintainability of computer programs."
PHP and Perl Usage
Most servers have PHP and Perl functionality built into the
web hosting accounts. However, not all web hosting companies
are comfortable offering Perl (CGI-Bin) access to their users.
The reason why many web hosts shudder at the thought of making
the Perl libraries available to their users is because Perl
is a very powerful scripting language. In the hands of the
wrong person(s), Perl access in a server can be used to bring
great harm upon the server.
In order to operate Perl scripts, you must have the ability
to change and set file permissions on any file that resides
on your web hosting account. If you have just a basic Yahoo
hosting account, you will not be able to use any Perl applications
on your website. Some web hosts prohibit Perl usage at any
level.
PHP is a new language that came about over the last few years.
It has been designed to allow people who do not have Perl
access to still have the ability to do scripting on their
domain.
PHP generally does not require that you have access to file
permissions. In Perl, executable files must carry permissions
of 755. In PHP, most files will only be required to carry
permissions of 644, which are the same permissions a standard
webpage carries.
Fortunately for Perl programmers like me, PHP operates in
many of the same manners that Perl programs operate. The learning
curve from Perl to PHP is not very big at all.
Perl and PHP Bring With Them Powerful Libraries of Functions
What makes Perl and PHP as powerful as they are is the fact
that both utilize functions very well. Basically, a function
will carry out one specific task, and it will be able to be
called from anywhere in your software.
Generally, one of the very first actions to be taken in a
script is to include all other files that are needed to operate
the software. The additional files generally carry many of
the functions that will be used in the software.
Then the software proceeds to carry out all of the necessary
functions in order to build a webpage in a specific, pre-defined
manner.
Programmers decide that there is a task that they perform
often, and then they build it into a function. In time, the
programmer will usually make his function available to the
programming community. And eventually, if the function is
exceptionally useful, then the function will be bundled in
new releases of the basic Perl or PHP build. All of these
additional functions are made available as the functions library.
How to Find Perl and PHP Scripts to Use on Your Website
There are actually many places you can go to find scripts
to use for your websites. Some websites offer directories
of free and paid scripts. Some websites will let you have
their scripts if they can have your email address.
Additionally, there are literally thousands of websites and
hundreds of books that will teach you how to write your own
scripts in any of these languages.
When I am in the mood to improve my coding abilities, I like
going to: http://www.planetsourcecode.com/
Planet Source Code offers full scripts and pieces of scripts,
with feedback, that will teach me to be a better programmer.
My favorite place for locating scripts to download for free
or to buy is: http://www.resourceindex.com/
The Resource Index has one part of their site dedicated to
Perl scripts: http://cgi.resourceindex.com/
They also have one part of their site dedicated to PHP scripts:
http://php.resourceindex.com/
Another decent site for locating scripts is at:
http://www.hotscripts.com/
Many individual programmers also offer a lot of good software
for purchase or for free. A few of the good ones will be:
http://www.scriptarchive.com/
http://www.bignosebird.com/
http://www.willmaster.com/
In Conclusion...
If you have ever told yourself, "it would be cool (or
useful) if I could do this for my website's visitors,"
then you are in the market to learn how to use scripts on
your website.
If you have imagined it, chances are someone has programmed
it. If they have programmed it, then you will either be able
to download it for free, or to buy it at a very reasonable
cost.
Before you plunk down your money to buy a program or script,
be sure that the programmer is willing to show you the script
in action. If it doesn't do what you want it to do, don't
buy it. If it does do what you want to do, then by all means,
do consider purchasing the software for use on your own site.
When programmers offer their software for sale, their documentation
is usually pretty good. They will tell you what steps you
need to take to install it on your server, and they will tell
you how to operate the software.
It is very realistic to believe that if you like what the
software does, you can have it live and operational on your
website in less than 30 minutes in most cases.
Good luck. I will be around later to see what cool stuff
you have added to your website.
Gavyn Stewart is a writer and programmer. When we needed
software for our websites, we would always go on the hunt
for software to buy. At the end of the day when we could not
find pre-packaged software to do exactly what we wanted it
to do, we built our own. Since most programmers are not business
owners, how could they know what we really needed? We have
started making some of our own software available for purchase at: http://www.StewartConsultants.com
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