Web Coding

To save re-inventing the car, let alone the wheel (and assuming that their kind of car is what you really want), numerous bundles of pre-written code are available to save you time -- once you find a good one and learn its worldview.

Free, open source packages for managing web design and web content, including portals, polls, syndicated news, etc, etc.

Linux is free software in two senses:  Firstly, it doesn't necessarily cost you anything to use (though there are commercial packages like which make it more user-friendly).  Secondly, and most importantly, it allows you to freely modify it by making its program code publicly available — hence the term ‘open source’. 

MySQL and PostgreSQL are two leading open source database solutions. MySQL is simpler and more efficient (for web stuff, arguably), PostgreSQL is more powerful and complex (though MySQL is catching up, arguably) — Just stay out of database arguments, is my advice.

Python, PHP and PERL (in order of increasing complexity) are programming languages useful for web coding. PHP is best for dynamic websites (check if your web host supports it — most now do).  The Python links have moved to this page.

It's good; but don't listen to me -- listen to Yoda:

Code! Yes. A programmer's strength flows from code maintainability. But beware of Perl. Terse syntax... more than one way to do it... default variables. The dark side of code maintainability are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you when code you write. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will.

For historical reasons, many of these links refer to MUD coding.

In most people's view of the perfect world, editing a web page would be just like using a word processor… we're not quite there yet, but the situation is improving. Still, as of April 2004 all the browser-based editing solutions are either glitchy or produce bad X/HTML. At this rate, projects like Mozile or Composite (and other solutions which allow the browser, a browser extension, or an external program to handle X/HTML editing), will probably come of age sooner than Java/Flash based editors will.