It’s small potatoes to a real hacker, but it’s a big deal to me. Tonight I created my first SQL database, exported 34 records from FileMaker into it, and ginned up a very simple search page to get at it. (Try looking for “Math” or “VAPA” as a subject). I couldn’t have done it without the help of MacSQL Lite, a very nifty tool. MacSQL has gotten me past the daunting mechanics of creating tables, PHP commands and SQL statements and does it in such a way that I’ll be learning as I go. It shows the SQL statements that my noodling with the GUI creates, so in time I’ll be able to stop using it and type in the commands straight into the web editor like Real Men do.
It’s clear to me that the combination of SQL and PHP and Flash are the foundation on which the next few years of my toolmaking will be built. I’ve finally got a toolkit that will take the place that HyperCard once held in my heart. I have a lot of ideas of things I’ve been wanting to do for some time now, and today was Day 1.
