Our office uses a server with 8 desktop workstations. When I have created my database with mySql, apache and PHP5 and placed the files on the server, will every workstation be
able to access my database just by having a browser on the desktop?

I could be corrected here. You could design pages with PHP and ADOBD scripts to enable you to manipulate the data via a web browser.

I think this would suit your requirements.

Jon,
What is ADOBD? I searched PHP and came up blank.

Andy

Had a bit of a typo there mate sorry about that. Its ADOdb. Heres the link:

http://phplens.com/lens/adodb/docs-adodb.htm

If you go to somewhere like hotscripts.com you will find tonnes of php scripts to connect to databases.

I can follow through with in info you've given. Thanks, Jon.

Andy

The simple answer is yes. That is, if a user on a desktop workstation enters the IP address of the office server as the URL, the web page retreived will be from the office webserver. Like an office intranet.

Let's be clear, ADOdb is a database abstraction layer so that the web application you might develop could be changed very easily to run on different database such as Oracle, MySQL, MS Access, etc.

Although it makes strategic sense to use database abstraction, it is not necessary since PHP contians 'native' functions to access MySQL.

Matthew,
This is good news. Being part of the non-profit health service community, our funding sources have deminished but the management/record keeping must go on. This appears to be THE answer to purchasing commercial products which are now unaffordable.

Thanks, Matthew.

Andy

re: able to access my database just by having a browser on the desktop?

Staff can "access" the db with the .php pages you design, of course, but utilties such as the popular web-based PHPMyAdmin (open source) will also allow access. Furthermore, it can give you (or whoever else) more general/administrative access to the db your custom solution will not (fairly easy to create/restrict users, tables, define fields/columns, etc.).

I'm a newbie and use it regularly.
--ST