Help choosing a web project

[SPI]

Hi everyone,

I am in a bit of a pickle right now, I have to make this web site for my igcse project. I am not sure what to do!! I am quite good at Html and CSS but I don't think they will be enough to get good enough grades.

I was thinking about adding a forum to my website, but I am not sure how to do that! I have like 2 months left to finish my project and have been putting it off for a long time now!

Please help me, any suggestion regarding what project I should make will be appreciated... and please could you also specify the languages to be learned to make forums?

Thanks

[Rob]

SPI,

What subjects are you passionate about?

I always find that the best sites are done by the people who love the subject most!

Just an idea...

[SPI]

I am passionate about computer science and everything related to technology! I am a total geek lol and I am proud of it : ) So please any sugestions?

[snow]

Is your project open ended? What's the spec like?

[SPI]

I have got the Computer Science syllabus right here with me, I will upload it. Could you guys please have a look at it and help me? I really need some professional guidance : ) My school had this brilliant teacher but he left at the end of last term so I am pretty much lost without him.


EDIT: The information regarding the project starts from page 21, and oh what do you mean by an open ended project?

[snow]

Candidates may choose to solve their problems either by the use of a software applications
package or by writing their own program. The exact method of solution will be the choice of each
candidate but the teacher will need to ensure that all options have been covered during the
course. The use of a specific programming language will not be recommended by UCLES, any
choice of language will be determined by the available resources within the school. However if
candidates choose to write their own program then the choice of language must allow them to
construct their program in a structured modular approach. Previous experience of candidates’
work indicates that the choice of certain projects; games, quizzes, word-processing and some
designing websites, make unsuitable projects capable of achieving high marks unless they are
both very well designed and documented. The following list is offered as a suggestion but it is in
no way a complete list and candidates should be encouraged to think of their own problem.
An invoicing/sales system as part of stock control
Sports league
Running a school tuck shop
Electricity billing system
Airline/theatre reservation system
Vehicle registration
Cruise/Holiday booking system
Estate agency
Website design in HTML
Computer controlled greenhouse, lift, traffic lights/sensors
Analysis of sales figures
Invoice/price list
Income/expenditure for an event
Seat Reservations
Payroll/wages
Doctor/dentist surgeries
Stock control
Local facilities guide
Sports club/library/club membership

Looks to be anything that takes your fancy - it seems like a pretty wierd course to me though!

Do you have any hobbies outside of Computing Science that you would be interesting in developing something for?

They seem to be happy for you to just use HTML, what other resources are there at your school that you have access to?

[SPI]

I have access to almost everything lol I have a Visual Basic software, dreamweaver, something realted to SQL, the Microsoft office package and a lot of other stuff

Actually I am not making the project at school, I am doing everything at home. I find it more easy to concentrate when I am alone , I will later copy it to a flash disk or something and submit it. Haha and yea it is a pretty weird course,

I am really interested in consoles, pc's and everything related to technology + soccer, cricket and some other stuff.

I have thought of a pretty useful project, I decided to make a gamespot like website. With seperate sections for each gaming machine and will further divide each section into: reviews, previews and news columns.

Now that stuff is pretty easy to do, but I also wanted to add a Forum where users could come and collaborate their ideas and stuff. But that's where the problem starts, I have *no idea at all* where to start from when it comes to developing the forum. What kind of languages do you have to learn for it??

[snow]

You would need some sort of database, and a scripting language like PHP, ASP.net... and I'm guessing you'll have to submit it to their computers, or can you just show them a print out of the code and a site working remotely?

[SPI]

Yea I can do both actually. It's up to me, I will submit both the codes and a site that works. So PHP or asp.net huh? Which one has an easier learning curve? Because I don't have much time left and I have a lot of ground to cover...

[snow]

personally ASP.net I picked up in about half the time - but I guess it depends what you're used to - like have you programmed with VB before?

Are you running a (valid) copy of Windows Pro/Server?

[snow]

Oh, and is it a laptop? Because to show them otherwise, you may have to get the site hosted on the internet?

Unless they are running Apache/IIS with the appropriate software on a machine you have access to there...

[SPI]

Technically no. But the only reason to that is I got my brothers windows xp professional cd, which was an original, but apparently you can use a cd key on just one computer at a time or something. So it doesn't really allow me to download the updates and stuff Don't judge me though lol because I didn't really do anything wrong hehe

And yea I used to do some VB a year back but stopped for some reason. But I am familiar with their coding format.

So asp.net? I will get some books on it, and considering I am a normal person lol how long do you think it will take me to grasp enough of it to create a forum?

And I really really appreciate all this, your tips have been really helpful....

[SPI]

No don't have a laptop, but I am pretty sure they will have the required software to test my webpage. If they don't I can always get it on a server or something, but thats thinking way too ahead, I am still in the coding stages

[SPI]

Originally Posted by snow

Unless they are running Apache/IIS with the appropriate software on a machine you have access to there...

Forgive my ignorace but what's an Apache/IIS??

[snow]

Heh, well, if you have a valid version of Windows pro/server:

Go to:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/

Download, first SQL Server 2005 Express, and then Visual Studio Express

And you'll have a Database and IDE ready to code with

If you aren't using Windows Pro+, I'd get apache and try to learn PHP?

This is if you're sure you want to code a forum!

[snow]

Oh! Sorry, Apache is an open source server, that you can use to run your web development from. IIS is the Windows web server available on the Server and (limited for dev only) Pro editions. Basically the only scripting language you'd run on it is it's own .Net stuff - as using PHP or Java web stuff on it is a nightmare.

[SPI]

I have visual studio 2005 professional edition on a cd ; ) My brothers copy again hahaha It has the sql server and everything else on it (i think)...

[snow]

Hmm, the pro edition of VS is good - but I'd still get the express edition, it seems to make coding in asp.net a million times easier

Get the DB from the CD though!

[SPI]

Oh I think I get it, so bascially if you have a valid server or pro you can obtain a web server free of charge? But you will have to use the .net crap? lol

[SPI]

haha ok now I feel like a complete moron, what's a db? Database? wow you probably think I am a talking monkey or something lol but let me assure you I am more than that!! I mean if i was a talking monkey I would be on tv and stuff hehe