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Hey all,

I’m very new to EE.  Been watching Ryan Irelan’s EEScreencasts available from the folks at PragProg and am so far enjoying them.

I’ve got a client project lined up that I would like to use EE to build.  I’ve got a few “unknowns” that I’m hoping could be answered:

1) The site will contain calculators available for potential clients (ie: mortgage calculator, etc.).  I’m trying to wrap my head around how I would go about doing this with EE.  Would this be a custom weblog/section, would this require a custom module or is it much easier than that?

2) How would I go about integration 3rd party services (ie: twitter badge, flickr, etc.) into the site?  Would this require a custom module (since there could be some custom PHP code required to work with the service APIs)?

I’d appreciate any help/info that could guide me in the right direction… I’m not sure if I’m over-thinking the problem or whether I should look into some more resources to expand my EE know-how.

Thanks,
-f

1) The site will contain calculators available for potential clients (ie: mortgage calculator, etc.).  I’m trying to wrap my head around how I would go about doing this with EE.  Would this be a custom weblog/section, would this require a custom module or is it much easier than that?

That depends on how the calculators are set up and what kind of functionality you need to “power” them.  It might need a custom module.

2) How would I go about integration 3rd party services (ie: twitter badge, flickr, etc.) into the site?  Would this require a custom module (since there could be some custom PHP code required to work with the service APIs)?

The process for integrating those 3rd party solutions is not any different than with a regular hand-coded HTML site.  You just add that code to EE templates like normal.  EE templates can include PHP (more info).

There are plugins for many popular web services (Flickr, Twitter, etc…) which you might want to look into that streamline the process.

That depends on how the calculators are set up and what kind of functionality you need to “power” them.  It might need a custom module.

I’m not yet sure whether it will require any server-side processing.  If it can all be done client-side, I have no worries; however, if it requires server-side code (ie: custom PHP code), how can I determine whether a module is/isn’t required?

The process for integrating those 3rd party solutions is not any different than with a regular hand-coded HTML site.  You just add that code to EE templates like normal.  EE templates can include PHP (more info).

There are plugins for many popular web services (Flickr, Twitter, etc…) which you might want to look into that streamline the process.

I’ll have a look into the existing plugins.  Are there any “best practices” when it comes to including PHP inside EE templates?  I remember seeing a warning in the CP, so I’m not sure when PHP should be used and when it should be avoided.

Thanks for responding.
-f

I’m not yet sure whether it will require any server-side processing.  If it can all be done client-side, I have no worries; however, if it requires server-side code (ie: custom PHP code), how can I determine whether a module is/isn’t required?

If you find yourself needing a way to administer the content and/or build functionality that’s not easily managed in a template, it’s time for an add-on.  In this instance, I don’t think that you’ll need a module (unless I’m misunderstanding the requirements).  There are existing modules for form processing (Solspace’s Freeform being one) that can handle that part.  The rest you can tack on with client-side code.

I’ll have a look into the existing plugins.  Are there any “best practices” when it comes to including PHP inside EE templates?  I remember seeing a warning in the CP, so I’m not sure when PHP should be used and when it should be avoided.

As long as your code is secure, well written and doesn’t conflict with EE’s code base, you should have no problems.  If the code is insecure and introduces security vulnerabilities, it can sometimes pose a security threat.  Those warnings shouldn’t deter you.  The ability to add PHP is allowed for a reason.  If you’re using documented methods of those 3rd party APIs, you shouldn’t have any problems.

So, the “best practices” you should follow are ones that pertain to writing PHP code in general.  Unless you plan to use EE’s classes, there isn’t anything particular to EE that you need to worry about.