Suggestion, php & mysql or XML?

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Suggestion, php & mysql or XML?

what are the advatages of XML

drooh

9:13 pm on Feb 28, 2007 (gmt 0)

I have built a calendar system using php & mysql. It is set up to pretty much run itself and anyone can submit events to it and I can confirm these before they appear. The calendar holds alot of different fields and its pretty complex.

Soon I am planning on allowing other remote host sites to display this same calendar information on their web pages. I know that with the current set up I will need to allow specific access for each remote host.

My question is:
* Is this the best route to go? Would there be a better way to share out the information that is in the calendar? Would XML be better for this and if so can you explain briefly how & why?

(note: I will need the information to be custom formated for each host site, in the way I have it now I know I can do this fairly easily. It is very customizable as far as how it is displayed.)

Thanks alot to anyone that could shed some isight on this.. :)

phranque

12:44 am on Mar 1, 2007 (gmt 0)

i haven't much experience to offer but the IETF(.org) has a web initiative for the iCalendar format.
you may want to look at ical to start.
the ietf.org docs usually make your brain ache when you try to read them so you may want to get started elsewhere.

daveVk

1:21 am on Mar 3, 2007 (gmt 0)

I will need the information to be custom formated for each host site, in the way I have it now I know I can do this fairly easily

The advantage of xml is that it can leave the formatting task to the site using your data, leaving you out of the circle. This is for example one of the web services offered by amazon. It assumes the users of your data have considerable skills (xlst) and is potentially very flexable. As your clients probably do not have this skill, consider client side CSS, or client supplied parameters to reduce your customizing workload.

[edited by: encyclo at 1:40 am (utc) on Mar. 3, 2007]
[edit reason] spliced from duplicate thread [/edit]

phranque

8:02 am on Mar 3, 2007 (gmt 0)

the advantage of icalendar is that it is already supported by just about every imagineable calendaring application besides palm.
there is a php icalendar module that you may find useful.
there are several ical to xml converters available if it must taste like xml.
there is even something called xcal that is a xml-based implementation of ical.

drooh

7:10 pm on Mar 3, 2007 (gmt 0)

maybe i should show you the calendar im talking about.

<url removed> then click on events.

you can see the complexity of the calendar, i would like to know if displaying this same info on other website would be better to use xml or php &mysql.

[edited by: encyclo at 10:47 pm (utc) on Mar. 3, 2007]
[edit reason] no URLs please, see TOS [webmasterworld.com] [/edit]

daveVk

12:30 am on Mar 4, 2007 (gmt 0)

If the idea is for other sites to display exactly the same events, in the same format, perhaps different style, stay with what you have.

If other sites need to choose which events to display, how to format/sort/classify them, consider xml (preferably in iCal/xCal) on top of what you currently have.