I’m building a site for vets to order tests from a lab, so the lab and vet can communicate the results.
Steps:
1.) vet to register a login/pass, clinic, and name on Lab website and data will be stored in websites Vet table.
2.) the vet would login to access the order form which pre-fills name and clinic information. Vet would fill in requests on the form.
These requests may be one test or multiple. Because of that, the test will have a separate table with a column per test. It will be joined with the others tables for a result page.
The requests are stored in a request table with a form_id that exists in the tables to use for the join. The form_id is used to tie up all the tables for the result page.
3.) Lab to get all data regarding request and who it is from by pulling the information from all relevent tables by joing tables. This will be
emailed to them or they can call the filled out form online.
I am doing the coding on PHP without a framework, except PEAR for the registration form.
Is there a better approach to do this project? Some other PHP framework?
Frankly, you don’t need a framework. Just roll up your sleeves and get to hand code the back end with custom made login/registration application. All you need is to plan and design the DB carefully. I gather you don’t even need a front-end interface. This is a piece of cake. You don’t need a framework, period. If you are a seasoned coder, it will be a walk in the park.
The problem with framework is that you have to first learn the way the code is setup. And the limitations that exist.
If you are a fan of MVC pattern, you can do that by creating your own MVC-based app.
I’ve decided to code with PHP without a framework. I did use PEAR for the registration form. I figure it would add too much time to learn a framework for a project like this. I also want to have a solid understanding of PHP coding with MySQL before I let frameworks handle a lot of the tasks.
I think you’d probably find long term maintenance of the project easier in the long run if you used a framework. CodeIgniter is simple, CakePhp less so, but arguably more elegant, Zend is real powerful but setup is pretty tricky to start with.
Depending on the framework you’re using, it can do a lot of work for you, or just a little. I tend to use some sort of framework for each application I write, because I don’t want to repeat myself over and over. Writing forms is something I consider tedious, as well as writing validation as well as doing basic user authentication. A good framework will take all of those tedious tasks out of your hands, simplifying the application’s code and giving you more speed in development.
For sending e-mails, I would suggest you take a look at SwiftMailer, for instance, it deals with a lot of stuff you probably don’t even want to know about.
In short? I wouldn’t necessarily say needed, but I find it easier.