Web Dudes (Advice Related)
highscheme
784 Posts
I am interested in creating a database of records in a specific niche, but I would like to publish it on the web some point in the future possibly allowing for users to to add records. (Similar to a small scale discogs.com)
What kind of database should I use to get things started on a personal side that can be easily adapted to web use later?
What kind of database should I use to get things started on a personal side that can be easily adapted to web use later?
Comments
Shorter answer: Excel
However, if you have a website hosted somewhere already, it would be really easy to set up a MySQL database that you can log into, edit the structure of, and add records one at a time. Then further down the line when you are ready to make it public, just get a simple web interface built that displays the contents on your website.
Ok, I figured there would be some way to export from Excel to anything I need in the future, but I wanted to make sure (I actually thought filemaker might be a more professional option so I'm glad you cleared that up).
So in the future, I am basically going to be converting an Excel spreadsheet into a MySQL database, right?
If it's going to be a large database, you are better off getting a cheap web host and starting it off in MySQL. It will also take care of backing up for you.
If you happen to be a Mac user, Apache web server comes pre-installed in OS X (and I'm sure it isn't difficult to install on Windows). So you can build and populate a MySQL database (with PHPMyAdmin) on your home computer. And exporting/importing is a snap with PHPMyAdmin. So copying your database from your home server to a live server is incredibly simple.
Though, as SportCasual said, you might as well just start with a web host right off the bat.
I do use a mac, so this seems like it might be the best bet for me.
This looks like a decent tutorial for installing PHPMyAdmin.
In case you aren't familiar with using your local web server ... any PHP based website (which includes PHPMyAdmin ... or a local installation of, for example, Wordpress) has to be opened via the web server. PHP is a server-side language which can't be interpreted directly by your browser. So you can't just double-click on "index.php" and have your browser open it.
If you open System Preferences and then open Sharing, you'll see a note that says "Computers on your local network can access your computer at ...". You'll probably see "yourusername.local". So, to open PHPMyAdmin, which might end up in a folder named "pma" in the "yourusername" user folder, you'd have to type this into your browser: http://yourusername.local/~yourusername/pma/
I'd suggest reading through a few tutorials. Once this is all set up, it's pretty easy to run. But you can fall down the Unix/Terminal rabbit hole a bit if you run into any problems.