From DB to email to personalized page and back

[Pam1234]

Hi everyone,

This is a broad question but I'm hoping someone can steer me in the right direction. I can write valid xhtml strict in the dark with my eyes shut but I'm a trial-and-error person when it comes to PHP. For that reason I'll require concrete examples if possible. I've installed and modified plenty of Joomla sites, I can wade through existing PHP code with some degree of success, and I do know how to set up a database in MySQL at least.

Here is what I am trying to do in a nutshell.

1. I have a client on shared hosting with a list of opt-in customers that can either go in a MySQL database or text file, doesn't matter:

firstname
lastname
email
user id

2. I want to generate an email (with appropriate opt-out link) to all customers with a link that includes something that will trigger the database to populate the landing page with their info so that...

3. The link opens a personalized greeting (Congratulation s Bob Smith!) and printable certificate with their unique id on it (I'll have a standard large number like 2345 with their user id appended as the last digit, pulled from the database -- unless someone has a better suggestion)

4, Customer clicks a submit button to accept

5. Customer receives confirmation email including all the details from the certificate, with cc to admin.

I know it's a lot to ask but I'm simply unsure how to even begin. I had tried modifying a pre-fab script (pommo at http://pommo.org -- excellent free subscription email program) but it uses Smarty -- more gobbledy-gook code that I don't understand -- and I'm going crazy just trying to extract the user ID so I can do the very basics. I put a request on their forum days ago with no reply so I probably have to abandon that script.

I would appreciate any assistance and I will gladly pay someone for their time or at least make a donation.

Thanks in advance,
Pam

[MarkoKlacar]

Hi Pam,

what you, as a start,need to look at is how to send e-mail using PHP.
You can find the information here.

Now as I said, it's a start.

Let me know if you need more help, or if you want me to be give you some more infotmation.

Good luck.

[Pam1234]

Thanks for the link, I really appreciate the help. Unfortunately I've looked at that in the past and the trouble is that there are lots of replies from people arguing about the best way to handle writing code, security stuff I don't understand like header injections, and so on ad infinitem, so how does someone like me even stand a chance? Which post do I believe? Which code is correct?

I only have a few days to deadline so I don't have time to learn from scratch. So let's say I already have a script -- I'll locate one somewhere -- and it's a straightforward email program with a subscription form using PHP and MySql. What I need to know is:

- How do I write a statement to echo the user id and make it show up in the email?
- How do I then create a link from the email to a personalized web page that echoes the user's first name, last name, and user id?
- From there, how do I write a personalized confirmation email that they receive when hitting a submit button?

That's it in a nutshell. The only thing I can think of to do is to study the code of an email program's subscribe page, and how that code gets into the email... then the unsubscribe page (which is generated from a personalized link from the email) and see if I can revise it to my use. Trouble is, I tried that with Pommo and it was Smarty code. Now I'm feeling pressure to figure out something else. Thanks for any assistance.

Pam

[MarkoKlacar]

Hey Pam,

I found theese links, how to se email from php and the smtp class.

Take it from here and we'll deal with the rest after that.

Cheers and good luck