Discussion:
Server Program
(too old to reply)
Tim^^BOB
2004-02-29 18:40:59 UTC
Permalink
I need to make a program that will be on a server(Like Geocities) and
will send information to other programs when they request it. The
problem is that I only know Visual Basic and some basic VBScript. Can
I do it with these or will I have to learn an entirly new language? If
I can do it, does anyone know of any sites that could give me
examples?

Thanks to all repliers,
Tim
radicaledward
2004-02-29 19:00:21 UTC
Permalink
It depends upon what you are trying to do, however, if you intent is just a
basic server program you should be able to pull it off in Visual Basic using
the WinSock or other such controls.
Post by Tim^^BOB
I need to make a program that will be on a server(Like Geocities) and
will send information to other programs when they request it. The
problem is that I only know Visual Basic and some basic VBScript. Can
I do it with these or will I have to learn an entirly new language? If
I can do it, does anyone know of any sites that could give me
examples?
Thanks to all repliers,
Tim
the Wiz
2004-02-29 19:25:07 UTC
Permalink
Post by Tim^^BOB
I need to make a program that will be on a server(Like Geocities) and
will send information to other programs when they request it. The
problem is that I only know Visual Basic and some basic VBScript. Can
I do it with these or will I have to learn an entirly new language? If
I can do it, does anyone know of any sites that could give me
examples?
Thanks to all repliers,
Tim
Most hosts don't allow you to install executables (such as VB programs) unless
you have a "business" account, where they provide space and server horsepower
for running user-provided programs.

That pretty much restricts you to using ASP (VBScript & JavaScript). That isn't
especially limiting; I was part of a team that wrote a multiuser scheduling
system for a federal agency. We used VBScript and JavaScript to build pages
that interface with a SQL Server database. The system serves over 200 users.

Simple data requests can be easily handled in VBScript, such as downloading
files.

1. Does geocities provide ASP support?

If so and you plan to provide file access (download) then that may be all you
need - BUT you'll need to know the server space limits and bandwidth limits
(MB/month transferred) on geocities.

If either of these isn't covered, you need a different host

2. If the data will be in a database, does geocities provide database support?

If not, you need a different host.

Hosting options include sites like 1asphost.com which provides ASP support, 50MB
disk space, and one Access database - it's free if you don't mind a few ads.
Sample page: http://e.1asphost.com/thelabwiz/

ASP pages can include SQL code to access a database (Access, SQL Server, MYSQL,
etc) for data entry and retrieval. It's not trivial, but basic functions aren't
that difficult to learn. There are a lot of free online tutorials on ASP and
SQL.

More about me: http://www.jecarter.com/
VB3/VB6/C/PowerBasic source code: http://www.jecarter.com/programs.html
Freeware for the Palm with NS Basic source code: http://nsb.jecarter.com
Drivers for Pablo graphics tablet and JamCam cameras: http://home.earthlink.net/~mwbt/
johnecarter ***@at mindspring dot.dot com. Fix the obvious to reply by email.
Tim^^BOB
2004-03-01 18:20:25 UTC
Permalink
Thanks radicaledward and Wiz, but that brings me to another question.
What do you mean by "ASP"? I've seen this used before and I'm not sure
what that means. I'm pretty sure it stands for Active Server Pages but
is that a language or just a type of VB programming?

Thanks to all repliers,
Tim
the Wiz
2004-03-02 03:12:37 UTC
Permalink
Post by Tim^^BOB
Thanks radicaledward and Wiz, but that brings me to another question.
What do you mean by "ASP"? I've seen this used before and I'm not sure
what that means. I'm pretty sure it stands for Active Server Pages but
is that a language or just a type of VB programming?
Thanks to all repliers,
Tim
ASP is Active Server Pages, which can be implemented in several ways. VBScript
and JavaScript are often the easiest, because of the number of examples and
tutorials online.

If you went to my page at 1asphost.com, the calendar application is done in
VBScript.

Note that VBScript is NOT VB, although it's similar in many respects.

More about me: http://www.jecarter.com/
VB3/VB6/C/PowerBasic source code: http://www.jecarter.com/programs.html
Freeware for the Palm with NS Basic source code: http://nsb.jecarter.com
Drivers for Pablo graphics tablet and JamCam cameras: http://home.earthlink.net/~mwbt/
johnecarter ***@at mindspring dot.dot com. Fix the obvious to reply by email.
Tim^^BOB
2004-03-03 22:07:06 UTC
Permalink
I'm confused here. I went to your webpage and looked at the calender,
but I don't understan how that is supposed to teach me. I can't see
any source code at all, and isn't that just an ActiveX control? I
think I must also be wrong here, but are you saying ASP is just a html
page with VBScipt and a ".asp" extension?

Thanks to all repliers
the Wiz
2004-03-04 23:03:06 UTC
Permalink
Post by Tim^^BOB
I'm confused here. I went to your webpage and looked at the calender,
but I don't understan how that is supposed to teach me. I can't see
any source code at all, and isn't that just an ActiveX control? I
think I must also be wrong here, but are you saying ASP is just a html
page with VBScipt and a ".asp" extension?
Thanks to all repliers
You don't see source code on an ASP page because it's processed **at the
server** to produce the HTML that displays the desired info. The difference
between VBScript and an ActiveX control is that ActiveX controls must be
installed on the server by an admin person. ASP scripts are simply uploaded
like regular HTML pages.

If it doesn't get munged too badly in transit, the code for the calendar page is
below:

<%@ LANGUAGE="VBSCRIPT" %>
<% Option Explicit %>
<% response.buffer = true %>
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>
Calendar - Week 1 - Page 200-
</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>

<%
function GetMonthName(iMonth)
select case iMonth
case 1:
GetMonthName = "January"
case 2:
GetMonthName = "February"
case 3:
GetMonthName = "March"
case 4:
GetMonthName = "April"
case 5:
GetMonthName = "May"
case 6:
GetMonthName = "June"
case 7:
GetMonthName = "July"
case 8:
GetMonthName = "August"
case 9:
GetMonthName = "September"
case 10:
GetMonthName = "October"
case 11:
GetMonthName = "November"
case 12:
GetMonthName = "December"
case else:
GetMonthName = "Invalid Month"
end select
end function



dim dtCurrentDate, strMonth, aryCalDays(42), iFirstDay, iDaysinMonth, iLoop
dim iRows, iColumns, iRowsLoop, iColumnsLoop
dim iMonth, iDay, iTemp
dtCurrentDate = date()
iDay=day(dtCurrentDate)

if request.querystring <> "" then
iMonth = Cint(request.querystring)
else
iMonth = month(dtCurrentDate)
end if

iFirstDay = datepart("w", dateserial(Year(dtCurrentDate), iMonth,1)) ' day 1
of month
iDaysinMonth = datepart("d", dateserial(year(dtCurrentDate), iMonth +1, 1 -1))
' last day of current month
strMonth = GetMonthName(iMonth)

if left(strMonth,3) = "Inv" then
response.write "<BR><H1>Argument Error: " & strMonth & "</H1><BR>"
response.write "</BODY></HTML>"
response.end
end if

iRows = 6 - int((42 - (iFirstDay + iDaysinMonth)) / 7) 'rows needed on
calendar

for iLoop = 1 to iDaysinMonth
aryCalDays(iLoop + iFirstDay -1) = iLoop
next

iColumns = 7
%>

<TABLE ALIGN="CENTER" BORDER="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="75%" HEIGHT="75%">
<TH COLSPAN=7>
<FONT SIZE=+2>
<%=strMonth & ", " & year(dtCurrentDate) %>

</FONT>
</TH>

<%

'loop thru rows and columns
for iRowsLoop = 1 to iRows
'new row
response.write "<TR>"
for iColumnsLoop = 1 to iColumns
'new column, display day, black out empty
if aryCalDays((iRowsLoop -1)*7 + iColumnsLoop) > 0 then
'show date
iTemp = (iRowsLoop-1)*7 + iColumnsLoop

if cint(aryCalDays(iTemp)) = iDay then
response.write "<TD bgcolor=yellow VALIGN=TOP
ALIGN=RIGHT WIDTH=""14%"">"
else
response.write "<TD VALIGN=TOP ALIGN=RIGHT WIDTH=""14%"">"
end if

response.write aryCalDays(iTemp)
'response.write "<br> " & iTemp & " &nbsp; " & iDay
response.write "</TD>"
else
'black out
response.write "<TD BGCOLOR=GRAY>&nbsp;</TD>"
end if
next
'close row
response.write "</TR>"
next
%>

</TABLE>
<A HREF="default.asp">Home Page</A>

</BODY>
</HTML>

More about me: http://www.jecarter.com/
VB3/VB6/C/PowerBasic source code: http://www.jecarter.com/programs.html
Freeware for the Palm with NS Basic source code: http://nsb.jecarter.com
Drivers for Pablo graphics tablet and JamCam cameras: http://home.earthlink.net/~mwbt/
johnecarter ***@at mindspring dot.dot com. Fix the obvious to reply by email.
Tim^^BOB
2004-03-05 19:53:30 UTC
Permalink
Thanks. So was I right in assuming ASP is just HTML with VBscript and
an ASP extension? I don't need to learn any new languages or anything?
Just upload my .asp file onto a server then reference it in a page?
That almost sounds too easy...

Thanks to all repliers.
Tim
the Wiz
2004-03-06 00:56:50 UTC
Permalink
Post by Tim^^BOB
Thanks. So was I right in assuming ASP is just HTML with VBscript and
an ASP extension? I don't need to learn any new languages or anything?
Just upload my .asp file onto a server then reference it in a page?
That almost sounds too easy...
Thanks to all repliers.
Tim
As long as the server is running Windows and supports ASP.

More about me: http://www.jecarter.com/
VB3/VB6/C/PowerBasic source code: http://www.jecarter.com/programs.html
Freeware for the Palm with NS Basic source code: http://nsb.jecarter.com
Drivers for Pablo graphics tablet and JamCam cameras: http://home.earthlink.net/~mwbt/
johnecarter ***@at mindspring dot.dot com. Fix the obvious to reply by email.
Tim^^BOB
2004-03-06 22:46:10 UTC
Permalink
Alright thanks Wiz for all your help, it may have taken a while for me
to get it, but you really cleared up the whole ASP thing for me.

Thanks again.
Tim

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