PHP, Apache, MySQL all needed for paypal?

[jamesdavid]

I want to set up a site with a shopping cart (which calculates shipping costs, updates its price, etc) with payment through paypal. Im reading a pdf which says i need PHP, Apache and MySQL. Im guessing I need the first 2 but do I need MySQL if im using a payment processor?

If so, do I need a MySQL editor (other than XAMPP), I already have Dreamweaver.

Thanks a lot

[fairestcape]

Zencart requires all this "programming" stuff, and won't function without it.

Once your webshop is up and running, you configure it to take payments via paypal. These are relatively simple "switches" and settings that you configure in Zencart's Admin Control Panel, and (of course) at your PayPal account.

What you need to do is find a WEB HOST that is set up to run Zencart (See HOSTING LINK at the top of this page).

Some hosts will even install zencart for you...

... easy!

[jamesdavid]

Thanks a lot. Guess I will install them then and continue on with my tutorial.

Another question if you dont mind, does Zen cart work with ColdFusion and would you recommend it? I hear ColdFusion is easier to learn than PHP.

[senortim]

You don't need something as powerful as Zen Cart to do a simple shopping site. (And thus, you don't need PHP or MySQL.) There are JavaScript components that will provide this capability (calculation and so on), and then you can set everything up using the tutorials that PayPal provides for simple carts. Try PayPal's site for more information on how to do this.

HTH,
Tim

[jamesdavid]

Could I do a site like this without Zen Cart;

http://www.somethingforthewickend.co.uk

Where you can customize your shopping basket and then get redirected to paypal to pay?

[stevesh]

Another question if you dont mind, does Zen cart work with ColdFusion and would you recommend it? I hear ColdFusion is easier to learn than PHP.

I'm not sure that's true if you're new to both, but you don't need to know much PHP to use Zencart unless you intend to modify the code heavily. Most of what you need to do to customise your Zencart installation can be done with a text editor like Notepad+. WYSIWYG editors aren't much use.

[fairestcape]

Thanks a lot. Guess I will install them then and continue on with my tutorial.

Another question if you dont mind, does Zen cart work with ColdFusion and would you recommend it? I hear ColdFusion is easier to learn than PHP.

If you are hosting internet websites on YOUR OWN SERVER (perhaps it sits on a linux box under your kitchen table), then intimate knowledge of php, linux, mysql, etc, ect, is important.

What you are more likely to do do, is host your websites on a REMOTE server, with a company that does this as a business - and they have all their servers set up to function properly.

If you host with a reputable ISP (Internet Service Provider), then you can install and have your zencart shop up-and-running in under an hour - with little or no experience of php, etc.

Some hosts (see the "hosting" link at the top of this forum page) will even install ZC for you as part of their hosting plan, leaving you to focus on tweaking the settings and style of your webshop.