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Building an Online Shop from scratch

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  • 27-10-2010 12:45am
    #1
    flashforward
    Registered Users Posts: 314 ✭✭


    I have a project that requires me to build an online store from the ground up.
    The shop will need all common features and some nice features like 'People who have bought this have also bought these', 'Recommended for you(based on past purchases)' etc.

    Could someone recommend a good source of information for learning how to do all this, or a book?

    Is using mySql the best(only) option to build the database?

    Cheers


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    #2
    Eoin
    Registered Users Posts: 21,257 ✭✭✭✭Eoin


    flashforward wrote: »
    I have a project that requires me to build an online store from the ground up.
    The shop will need all common features and some nice features like 'People who have bought this have also bought these', 'Recommended for you(based on past purchases)' etc.

    Could someone recommend a good source of information for learning how to do all this, or a book?

    Is using mySql the best(only) option to build the database?

    Cheers

    MySQL is not the only option at all, but it is probably your best bet. To properly separate business logic from the database tier, it wouldn't be a bad idea to go with a version that supports stored procedures and views.

    Have you decided what programming language you're going to use? I did a quick search and found this tutorial for building a shopping cart with PHP:
    http://www.phpwebcommerce.com/


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    #3
    sf80
    Registered Users Posts: 252 ✭✭sf80


    Start with detailing your requirements; know what you want before you attempt to build it.

    When it comes to building the database MySQL is a good option; plus you will be able to use a good DB design tool: MySQL workbench http://wb.mysql.com/.

    Having good requirements and a good database design before you start programming will make everything go a lot smoother.

    Edit:

    If you have time to learn a good framework ( like Zend, Symfony of CakePHP if your using PHP ) it will make you life easier.


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    #4
    Naikon
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,564 ✭✭✭Naikon


    I reckon you should use something like Ruby on Rails to build this website. Sure, it takes a bit of getting used to in comparison to PHP for example, but it's easier to manage overall because of the whole MVC design.

    PHP/MYSQL is probably the most common way of going about this, but it's not the cleanest at the best of times. I have written spaghetti code before in PHP whereas in Ruby on rails, this is almost not a problem provided you follow convention. mysql is not
    the only option by the way, you can use postgresql or even sqlite for Ruby. Pick the one that suits your needs imo.

    I used this book for rails and it takes you from inception to finish of a shop website: http://pragprog.com/titles/rails2/agile-web-development-with-rails


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    #5
    sf80
    Registered Users Posts: 252 ✭✭sf80


    Naikon wrote: »
    PHP/MYSQL is probably the most common way of going about this, but it's not the cleanest at the best of times. I have written spaghetti code before in PHP whereas in Ruby on rails, this is almost not a problem provided you follow convention.

    The current PHP frameworks are quite mature and give you good MVC and ORM. Symfony and Rails are comparable ( http://travisonrails.com/2009/10/28/barcamp-nashville-09-presentation-symfony-vs-rails )


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