What Software or Programming Language do sites like Facebook or Myspace use?

[Altoo]

Hi guys,

I wanted to create a website where people can register a profile, picture amongst other details. A networking site of sorts but for a niche that I don't think has been done before.
My question is, what kind of Programming language or software do I need to be proficient in for websites like these?
I'm kinda going about it the wrong way at the moment trying to look up HTML, Mysql, PHP etc all at once without focusing on a particular one. Baffling at the moment.
If anybody could point me in the right direction for the best tutorials as well i'd appreciate it. I've found a few on google but always worth seeing if there are better ones out there That way I could read up on them when I have spare time at work.

Thank you all in advance, I appreciate it

Altoo

[JimOfferman]

HTML, MySQL and PHP are all fine tools for building interactive websites - plus a whole lot to learn for you!

Take it easy, start small - you'll be fine!

[Altoo]

Thank you very much!
The thing that bugs me about most of the programming (well apart from HTML) is that I can't see any examples of where the Mysql is used or where PHP is used. A lot of tutorials wander off into technicality's without examples of where Mysql/php is used.

For example I know Mysql is used to create databases so with regards to a website like Facebook, are all the profiles registered on a Mysql database? Where else is Mysql used on the site? When somebody registers a profile to Facebook/Myspace are they automatically added on to a Mysql database?

I know these are noob questions so I do apologise for testing anyone's patience..I normally pick things up quite quickly especially where computers are involved. I'm going to read more everyday. Anybody know of some recomended tutorials with some examples perhaps?

Thanks again

[Altoo]

Originally Posted by JimOfferman

HTML, MySQL and PHP are all fine tools for building interactive websites - plus a whole lot to learn for you!

Take it easy, start small - you'll be fine!

Good advice..I havn't always been the patient type. I always have the end result and the dream in my head but occasionally forget about the steps to get there. I'm determined to not get discouraged. Going to start off slow and learn more everyday!

[prasunsen]

Facebook is on PHP, not sure for MySpace. PHP is good enough for almost everything, don't worry. It's much easier than other alternatives

[goldtoe360]

I agree, PHP is a pretty easy language to learn.

For me I use phpMyAdmin interface to create/edit/insert tables in my mysql database. My hosting service provides this for me (u2-web). In each database you create, you also can create tables specifically for: links, user login info, comments, any other data,..etc.

An example of PHP/MySql use is a Simple PHP/Mysql Guestbook

[tobyhede]

MySQL is famously a hodge-podge of several languages. But large parts of the original are/were in ColdFusion.

Facebook is in PHP.

At the levels of traffic that these sites have the language itself is irrelevant.
All the issues are in the database and file storage. Facebook, for example, has something like 500 dedicated memcached servers - these cache data in RAM and mean the site doesn't have to hit the actual database directly for data.

Um, where was I. As a database MySQL is used to store all the data with the exception of files (such as images). So all profile data will be stored in MySQL.

Anyway ...

Building one of these sites is a MASSIVE undertaking. I was involved building a white-label social networking system last year - it took 4 programmers and nearly 6 months of work.

Seriously, the best advice I can give you regarding setting up a "niche" social network is to use an off-the-shelf product rather than build your own. There are so many of these social networks - the hard part is not the software, but the marketing.

A really good commercial option is phpFoX » Social Networking Script. This is pretty slick has ALL the features you need for your own site. They will host it for you, you can extend it if you need to using PHP. To get started today, this is my recommendation.

Lovd By Less -- Open Source Social Network -- Who loves you, baby? is an open-source ruby on Rails system. Ruby on Rails is my development platform of choice - I am easily 20-30% more productive in Rails and I charge my clients accordingly. This is not as feature complete as PHPFox, but if there are things that your niche needs that will require custom dev, I would suggest looking at Rails.

What I have been suggesting to most of my clients (everyone wants a niche network these days) is build a Facebook and/or MySpace/Open Social Application that provides features to this niche but leverages the existing community.

[Altoo]

Thank you all very much, you've been very helpful.
Thanks for the links Goldtoe and Toby. They helped.
Good advice Toby. You're obviously very experienced in this field. Just a final question though...If I don't do a networking site I will do a blog. I have some articles already in my field. Do you think it would be better for me to sign up with a host and kind of learn 'on the job' so to speak? Some of the things I'm reading are making sense but I think I need to see it all in front of me. What do you think?

[JimOfferman]

Originally Posted by Altoo

Thank you very much!
The thing that bugs me about most of the programming (well apart from HTML) is that I can't see any examples of where the Mysql is used or where PHP is used. A lot of tutorials wander off into technicality's without examples of where Mysql/php is used.

MySQL is not actually a language, but a database product that supports the Structured Query Language (SQL).

In the context of web applications, PHP is used to build dynamic websites (as opposed to a 'static' website comprised of HTML pages stored on your server). When your dynamic website handles a lot of data, it generally makes sense to store that data in a database [but this is not a requirement]. At this point SQL comes in as the language you use to communicate with your database. Conceptually, all (MySQL) database driven PHP websites boil down to the following:

<?php
$myData = UseSQLToQueryDataFromDatabase();
WriteNiceHTMLPageWithData($myData);
?>

Easy huh?

[sv800]

Explore the developer network, The Yahoo! User Interface Library (YUI)
A lot of resources for create dynamic sites..watch the videos and tutorials..

good luck

[shnu]

There are a number of open source toolkits that you can tailor to create your own social networking site. Popular systems are Wordpress, Drupal and Elgg. How much work is involved depends on your target audience: advogato stands out as a ten year old site for free software developers that has been functional as a social networking site for its target audience. Such a site is well within the scope of a single developer to create and manage.

Originally Posted by tobyhede

Um, where was I. As a database MySQL is used to store all the data with the exception of files (such as images). So all profile data will be stored in MySQL.

This is right, but could do with a bit of explanation: the database should hold all data that can change as a result of user interaction with the system. This is needed because websites deal with users in a parallel manner, and this risks data corruption if data changes are not handled properly. The database knows how to do this.

Check out Greenspun's classic Database-backed web sites for information that every web developer should be on top of.

[schola]

Elgg: the open source social networking platform

Open Source Social Platforms: 10 of the Best

[Vanessa]

MySQL is famously a hodge-podge of several languages. But large parts of the original are/were in ColdFusion.

I think you mean MySpace.... it was based on ColdFusion then Blue Dragon.


As for building a social networking site:

Give ning and Kickapps a try.

[Neutral]

One more to open social networking platform;
Insoshi: open-source social networking platform in Ruby on Rails

You can download and mess around with it. It's in Ruby on the Rails. It just launched today!