Mixing PHP and ASP.Net

My first dynamic website was developed in, what is now called, "Classic ASP".  Classic ASP (Active Server Pages) allowed pages to be dynamically generated based on user input.  For example: one of my first major websites, back around 1999, was for a company that supplied new and used car information.  The web user would first select the Year and Make of the car they owned or were interested in buying.  After selecting a year and make and pressing Next, they were then prompted with options for Models associated with the Make and Year of the car.  After selecting the Model, they would then select the Style.  After selecting the Style, all the dealer and auction value pricing along with a list of standards and options would be displayed.

I believe UNIX came first in terms of the ability to create Dynamic websites but Classic ASP was a big step up.  Soon after classic .asp, a bunch of other languages cropped up such as Java Server Pages, and Cold Fusion.  On the Linux and Apache Server side, PHP developed a huge following. Microsoft spent billions coming up with the next version of ASP called ASP.Net.  The first version of .Net in 2003 had a lot to be desired.  But, like a lot of new software, the 2nd version that came out in 2005 was something that I felt I could "work with".  So like a gun fight at the OK Corral, it seems as if there are 2 dynamic website coding platforms left standing:  PHP and ASP.Net. 

Since there are predominantly 2 major dynamic web development platforms left, this is good news in the respect that my company doesn't have to master a dozen different platforms to satisfy most customers out there. Also good news is that you can run .PHP websites on a Microsoft web server.  This week, I was able to set up a .php WordPress blog site (see: http://Blogs.LouisDatz.com) as a sub-domain to my personal site (see: http://www.LouisDatz.com).  I was also able to "plug-in" a small shopping cart page written in .Net into a page of a website developed using WordPress.

ADDING WORDPRESS TO A .NET SITE:

From IIS or your website control panel:

• Make sure PHP 5 is installed on your .Net site
• Create a sub-directory to wwwroot (Ex. wwwroot\blogs)
• Create a virtual directory pointing to wwwroot\blogs and give it a name like blogs
• Create a sub-domain (ex. Blogs.LouisDatz.com) pointing to the virtual directory blogs
• Create a MySql database (make note of the server, database name, user id, password)

From your computer:

• Make sure you have the following programs on your computer (see: www.microsoft.com/web/gallery/)
  • Microsoft Web Matrix
  • Microsoft Platform Installer
• From the Microsoft Web Gallery, click the install button for WordPress. This will install all the necessary stuff for you to have on your computer for php and MySql to work.
• When the install is finished, Web Matrix should open up your new WordPress site Within Matrix (with WordPress as the current site you are working on)
• Click Set up the remote publishing location for your web site
• I set the FTP directory for LouisDatz.com to wwwroot/blogs for the directory to publish the WordPress site.
• Test the connection to validate that you entered everything correctly and press Save Click Publish near the upper left hand corner of Web Matrix

From your new WordPress website:

• Run the WordPress install:
  • Go to your readme.html page (ex. http://Blogs.LouisDatz.com/readme.html).
  • Click on the install link Enter your administration user id and password
  • You are done!

ADDING .NET TO A WORDPRESS SITE:

On the other side, my company was also asked to add a shopping cart component to a WordPress website.  My company developed the website for Temple Beth El of Boca Raton (see: www.TBEBoca.org). For their Early Childhood Center (see: www.tbebocaecc.org) the site was developed in WordPress.  I am starting to see many websites being developed using WordPress as the foundation. I have to admit that these sites look pretty good.  Now, I am in the process of determining the capabilities and limitations of setting up a site this way.  One limitation which I have to research is that the Temple wanted to incorporate the shopping cart engine my company developed for www.tbeboca.org within www.tbebocaecc.org.  The solution my company came up with was the use  of an IFrame.  An IFrame is like having an outside website within the page of another website.  I created a page on the tbeboca.org site that was stripped of all the skinning features (top header, bottom footer, top menu, side navigation).  The page is self contained in the sense that the Early Childhood Center products are displayed within the page and the user can add products to their cart and checkout with their credit card right within the same page.  So, instead of creating or adding a 2nd shopping cart engine to their .PHP site, the Temple is maintaining the Early Childhood Center products and orders using their .Net site (www.TBEBoca.org) by making use of an IFrame.