Book Image

Building Online Stores with osCommerce: Professional Edition

By : David Mercer
Book Image

Building Online Stores with osCommerce: Professional Edition

By: David Mercer

Overview of this book

<p>The book can be read from front to back, but each chapter is self contained so the reader can skip chapters to read those that they are interested in. Each chapter will move from basic to advanced where applicable and also relate what the administrator (reader) is doing to how this affects what the client sees on the site.</p> <p>So, for example, the customization chapter will start off with a discussion on the concept of design and how to relate this to your business. Once the reader has a clear idea of what they need to do, we look at some really simple changes such as modifying the site's language, before moving to some advanced modifications which may involve some PHP programming. At the same time the discussion will demonstrate how the changes made affect the site.</p> <p>Throughout the book, much consideration is given to the "right" way to doing things. Readers will have the great advantage that they begin, from the very start, doing things properly. This will save them a lot of time and effort in the years to come as they build on and modify their site. Utilizing best practices and sound methodologies is a great asset for beginners and experienced users alike.</p> <p>At all times, the coverage given in this book pays homage to the fact that, ultimately, the reader has a business goal in mind. To this end, the material never gets bogged down in technical issues or long discourses, but rather focuses on what is practically important for the online business and then moves on. To complement this, there are plenty of suggestions and hints as to how and where to look for further information.</p>
Table of Contents (19 chapters)
Building Online Stores with osCommerce: Professional Edition
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
Foreword
Introduction
Index

Downloading and Installing a PHP, Apache, and MySQL Package


If you don't want to go to the trouble of installing everything individually, then there are a few bundled packages available on the Web for free download, instead. However, for the purposes of this chapter, we will use the PHP Triad option provided by SourceForge at http://sourceforge.net/projects/phptriad/. Navigate to this page in your browser and then scroll down until you get to the Latest File Releases section, and click on the Download link in the phptriad row. Select the download file, and then choose a mirror to start downloading. Once the .exe file is safely on its way, you can put your feet up by the fire and have a cup of coffee while you wait for it to download.

Once it has downloaded, run the executable. The first thing you will need to do is read the license agreement and ensure you agree with everything it says. Assuming you do, click I Agree to continue. PHP Triad will then begin its setup, and once it is completed...